On Wednesday, residents and emergency services in Carinthia, Tyrol and Styria still had to struggle with the consequences of the massive rainfall. But the situation should noticeably relax: “From Thursday the snow situation will calm down sustainably,” forecast the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG). In Carinthia, the ongoing snowfall initially continued to cause problems. The avalanche danger was still great in Upper Carinthia and East Tyrol.
In eight communities affected by the snow chaos, the corona mass tests planned for the weekend were postponed, a new date was not set for the time being. There were also disabilities on the streets, snow chains were compulsory and there were blocks due to the danger of avalanches or the danger of falling trees. According to ÖAMTC, for example, Katschberg Straße (B99) between Gmünd and Rennweg, Plöckenpass Straße (B110) between Kötschach-Mauthen and Oberdrauburg, but also in the direction of Italy and Kleinkirchheimer Straße (B88) between Radenthein and Bad Kleinkirchheim were affected at lunchtime.
Around 7,700 Carinthian households were not supplied with electricity by midday. “It’s coming and going, faults are repaired and new ones are added,” said Kelag spokesman Josef Stocker when asked by the APA. 160 Carinthian network fitters were on duty. The districts Villach-Land, Klagenfurt-Land, Feldkirchen and St. Veit an der Glan were particularly affected, but also Völkermarkt and Spittal an der Drau. In Villach, the parks and cemeteries were closed due to the danger of falling branches.
In East Tyrol there was another 40 to 60 centimeters of fresh snow on Wednesday night. Relaxation was forecast for the afternoon. While around 2,500 households in East Tyrol were initially without electricity, all malfunctions in North Tyrol and especially in the Ötztal, which was also badly affected, were able to be rectified. Snow was to be removed from the main power line in East Tyrol by means of “down-wash” in order to prevent snow breakage. An army helicopter should be used for this.
The danger of avalanches was still high in East Tyrol. The experts from the avalanche warning service indicated danger level “4”, meaning high risk. In North Tyrol the danger level “3” prevailed. The effects were also clearly felt on the streets. Numerous federal and state roads were still closed. The Felbertauernstraße (B108) between Matrei in Osttirol and Mittersill could not be used as well as the Brennerstraße (B182) between Mühlbachl and Schönberg in the Stubaital. In order to reestablish a connection between East Tyrol and Carinthia on the traffic route, the armed forces hunter battalion supported the snow clearance on the Gailtalstraße (B111) with avalanche awareness.
In the course of the morning in Styria, heavy snowfall began in almost all parts of the country. In the morning, dozen of Energie Steiermark’s transformer stations were not connected to the grid because trees buckled under the heavy snow and lines were cut. 4,000 to 5,000 Styrian households were therefore temporarily without electricity. The worst affected were southern and western Styria, where it had snowed since the morning hours. In the provincial capital Graz the rain only turned into heavy snow in the morning. Chains were imposed on numerous higher streets, but fire brigades were repeatedly busy with trucks and cars that had got stuck.
Soon, however, calm should return to the affected areas: “The snowfall in East Tyrol and in Carinthia will be weaker on Wednesday in the course of the afternoon and will subside completely in the night on Thursday at the latest,” said Stefan Kiesenhofer from ZAMG on APA request. “The sometimes heavy snowfall and rain in Styria and southern Burgenland, however, will continue on Wednesday and will gradually spread to Lower Austria, northern Burgenland and Vienna.” On Thursday, snowfall and rain gradually subsided everywhere.
Since Friday it had rained and snowed a lot in parts of southern and western Austria – spread between 200 and 400 liters per square meter. Evaluations by ZAMG showed snow records such as the highest December snow depth in St. Jakob / Defereggen with around 140 centimeters and the 24-hour snowfall, for example in Umhausen in the Ötztal with around 80 centimeters of fresh snow on Sunday. According to the weather experts, records for the amount of precipitation throughout December are already emerging for parts of southern and western Austria.
Those: APA
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