First snow photos

Weather crash: From midsummer straight into winter

Covered in snow: the Franz Senn Hut in the Stubai Valley(Bild: Franz-Senn-Hütte)

The weather is going from bad to worse these days: while recently it was still sweating in temperatures of 30 degrees and above, the predicted weather collapse took place on Thursday night. Some of the mountains in Tyrol and Salzburg are already covered in snow - in some places it has even snowed down into the higher valleys. There is still no relief in sight - the rain in particular is causing concern.

Three degrees in the morning in the Außerfern or in East Tyrol, just seven degrees in Innsbruck - and: bitterly cold sub-zero temperatures on the mountains from around 2000 meters. The weather has plummeted, from summer straight into winter.

In the west - for example in Tyrol - the mountains are already white. For example in the Stubai Valley, in the Seefeld area or in Kitzbühel, as the first photos from Thursday morning show: 

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Snowfall in Salzburg
There was also heavy snowfall in Salzburg last night. Obertauern is always one of the first places to be covered in snow.

Two heavy phases of precipitation
And it will continue in this vein in the coming days: GeoSphere Austria issued a snow and rain warning (warning level "orange", level 3 of 4) for parts of Tirol until Sunday night. According to the experts' forecasts, precipitation is expected in two phases.

• The first phase of precipitation until Friday morning will affect East Tyrol and the rear Zillertal valley as far as the Brenner region. Intense precipitation is to be expected. The snow line will drop to 1200 to 1500 meters above sea level.
• In a second phase from Friday morning to Sunday night, intensive precipitation is expected in the North Tyrolean lowlands - Kufstein, Kössen, Gerlos to the Jenbach-Achensee region - according to current forecasts. Up to 150 liters of precipitation per square meter are forecast in some areas.

Danger of mudslides and flooding
"Although the forecast low snow line will partly bind the precipitation as snow, especially on the mountains and in higher regions, small-scale flooding or mudslides may still occur in the areas mentioned below 1000 meters," warns Elmar Rizzoli, Head of the Tyrolean Center for Crisis and Disaster Management.

Warning for the whole of Austria, emergency services ready
Large parts of Austria are affected by the massive change in the weather: Geosphere Austria has issued a rain, snow and wind warning for Thursday until the beginning of next week due to the massive cold front. Flooding and mudslides are also expected.

"In higher regions, snowfall with problems on traffic routes and power lines," it continued. Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) assured on Wednesday evening that the emergency services were prepared.