Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Winter makes early visit to Salzburg

After a summer of record high temperatures winter has already arrived in some parts of Austria - with the Grossglockner alpine road in the state of Salzburg closed on Thursday for safety reasons after snowfall.

Published: 24 September 2015 13:52 CEST
Winter makes early visit to Salzburg
The Böcksteinstrasse in Gasteiner Tal. Photo: APA/Gindl

“We’ve had 50 centimetres of snow. Between the Fuscher Törl and the Hochtor, there are snow drifts of up to two meters,” deputy police superintendent Peter Embacher said. “We have three snowploughs and two snow blowers on the go. We hope that today we can clear all the snow and reopen the road by Friday,” he added.

The spa town of Bad Gastein also saw snow, and the road to Sportgastein had to be closed on Wednesday, after 40 centimetres of fresh snow. On Thursday morning drivers were told to use snow chains on the B99 road.

The Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) said more snow could be expected in mountainous areas in Salzburg during Thursday but that the weather should start to improve on Friday. Maximum temperatures on Thursday were between eight and 15C.

Mountain areas in Upper Styria also saw their first major snowfall, with up to 15 centimetres on the peaks of ski areas Enns and Murtal. Some of the slopes in the valley also got a dusting.

Minor traffic delays were reported on mountain roads in Styria and the Sölkpass between the Enns and Mur valleys had to be closed, according to the ÖAMTC Schladming.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

READ ALSO:

Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

SHOW COMMENTS