April does what it wants, they say – and this weekend it allowed winter to return to Austria. According to the Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), the snow fell into the very deep layers. The adverse weather conditions led to numerous road accidents across the country. Snowy roads caused problems, firefighters were alerted for the recovery of vehicles.
Five centimeters of fresh snow has been measured at the Hohe Warte measuring station in Vienna (198 meters above sea level). The most fresh snow from the past 24 hours was 39 centimeters at the Sonnblick Observatory (3106 meters above sea level, Salzburg). At the Alpine Center Rudolfshütte (2317 meters above sea level, Salzburg) 20 centimeters of fresh snow has fallen in the past 24 hours and 15 centimeters at the Feuerkogel (1618 meters above sea level, Upper Austria). On the Villacher Alpe (2117 meters above sea level, Carinthia) that was twelve centimeters. Five centimeters of fresh snow has been measured at the ZAMG weather station at the top station of the Rax cable car (1547 meters above sea level, Lower Austria).
Lower elevations were also white: according to available data from ZAMG, seven centimeters fell in Kremsmünster (382 meters above sea level, Upper Austria), in Allentsteig (599 meters above sea level, Lower Austria) eight centimeters fell, in St. Pölten (274 meters). above sea level, Lower Austria) two centimeters and in St. Johann im Pongau (634 meters above sea level, Salzburg) six centimeters. Five centimeters were measured in Preitenegg (1034 meters above sea level, Carinthia) and four centimeters in Reutte (850 meters above sea level, Tyrol). In Wiener Neustadt (275 meters, Lower Austria) at least an inch of fresh snow fell.
Numerous accidents have resulted…
- In Lower AustriaSome accidents have occurred in the Semmering, Wechsel and Rax regions, the FF commander of the Neunkirchen district, Josef Huber, said on Sunday. For the most part, it should have remained sheet metal damage. In some cases, police said snow chains were mandatory for trucks and driving bans for articulated vehicles. The necessary clearing and scattering operations were underway everywhere, the government agency announced. The avalanche danger in the Ybbstal Alps, in the Gippel-Göller area and in the Rax-Schneeberg region above the treeline was assessed as moderate (level 2 of 5), otherwise low risk.
- In Tyrol Late on Saturday night in wintry conditions, two traffic accidents occurred, in which one person was injured, according to police. In Kirchberg (Kitzbühel district), a heavily drunk Austrian crashed his car over a slope and got stuck in a tree. In Scharnitz (Innsbruck-Land district), a 32-year-old German ran off the road and rolled over.
- Salzburg: A 20-year-old car driver from Carinthia lost control of the steering wheel on Sunday night on the B99 in Tweng (Lungau) due to the snow and fell about 30 meters from a steep slope. The woman was taken to Tamsweg Hospital with injuries.
Cold air typically snaps
According to Thomas Wostal of ZAMG, cold air breaks are typical for April. In recent years, fresh snow continued to fall every April, at least in some regions of Austria, even below 800 meters above sea level. In the very low elevations of Austria, such as in Vienna, snow is relatively rare in April and only occurs every few years.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
