Jump to content
Thunder?
Local
Radar
Hot?
IGNORED

Austria Hit By Heavy Snow


Summer Sun

Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Darlington
  • Weather Preferences: Warm dry summers
  • Location: Darlington

Heavier than usual snowfall and high winds have caused chaos on roads and railways in many areas of Austria. Part of a major railway route has been shut down in the west of the county, and some villages and tourist resorts have been cut off.

Up to 1.2 metres (4ft) of fresh snow has been recorded in some areas since Thursday. The authorities say the probability of avalanches is extremely high and widespread. The railway line that connects Oetzal, close to Innsbruck in Tyrol, and Bludenz in the far west of the country has been shut and is expected to remain closed until Sunday afternoon, says the BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna.

Nearly 2,000 homes have been without power. On Friday, around 15,000 tourists and locals were snowed in at ski resorts on the Arlberg mountain. The roads there are now open again, but others in the region remain shut. Because of the high risk of avalanches, the Austrian army has put several helicopters on high alert.

More heavy snow is predicted over the next few days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16456103

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 18
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Posted
  • Location: Paris suburbs
  • Location: Paris suburbs

It's not just Austria, this was France yesterday:

389973_10151121750865416_671675415_22072036_975257021_n.jpg

That balcony is on the first floor! There is, unbelievably, a floor beneath it.

up_we_go.jpg

I was in the resort a few weeks ago, and arrived to what was described as a "storm of the century". There, we also had difficulty distinguishing between ground floor / first storey, and working out whether you're looking at a field or a buried car park. :D It appears to have happened again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: London, UK
  • Weather Preferences: MCC/MCS Thunderstorms
  • Location: London, UK

Gatwick>Innsbruck. Go around. Hold. Divert to Munich. Bus to Innsbruck. Train 3/4 of the way to St anton- st anton shut due avalanche/amount of snow.

408358_10150451677226403_510711402_9238232_1346642684_n.jpg

Friend posted this on facebook earlier, lol!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Northwich south cheshire 35m or 114ft above sea le
  • Weather Preferences: snowy winters,warm summers and Storms
  • Location: Northwich south cheshire 35m or 114ft above sea le

and its all heading to the uk :lol: in 10 days time(i wish LOL)

C.S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Leyland,Lancs, uk
  • Weather Preferences: Snow,snow,snow!! Ooh and sunny,warm days!!!
  • Location: Leyland,Lancs, uk

and its all heading to the uk :lol: in 10 days time(i wish LOL)

C.S

Grrrr you had me there for a minute.....awe :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

the main street in Wengen 2 days ago and they have had another 30cm or so since-and its still snowing. The forecast suggests it will clear in the next 36-48 hours so hopefully the Lauberhorn races should take place.

post-847-0-56378500-1326035808_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

1,000 Britons trapped by freak 18ft snowfall in ski resort

Rhoda Buchanan

A freak snowfall of 18ft over a single month in an Austrian ski resort has left 1,000 British holidaymakers stuck in the Alps.

The town of Ischgl in western Austria has had 5.5m of snow in the past three weeks – almost the same amount as it had in the whole of the last year’s season. Only two months ago the resort had to spend €1 million (£825,380) manufacturing fake snow, due to a lack of the real thing.

“The week before Christmas there were green fields in Ischgl,†said Peter Miller, from the Iglu skiing company, which has 80 clients in Ischgl. “People were praying for snow. Now they’re praying for it to stop. It is extraordinary that in Austria, with its amazing networks of roads and snow clearing, Brits are still stuck there.â€

The resort caters for 11,000 tourists, many of whom are British. At the moment the town is isolated, with no road access, because of the heavy snowfall. According to a hotel worker, one wealthy Russian managed to leave the Sporthotel Silvretta by helicopter. “With the snow, there is a lot of stress here,†she said. The height of the snow is the equivalent of four cars piled on top of one another.

Ankie Kathrein, manager of Solaria Hotel, said that some tourists were beginning to panic: “From Saturday onwards the roads have been completely closed. For guests who are not used to it, it’s hard. There is a bit of panic that you can’t get out.

“You are not allowed to leave Ischgl. Police are guarding the exits to the town because of a fear of avalanches. It is very dangerous.

“People are getting hectic and panicked. But perhaps the nightlife is maybe a little bit more ‘up’ because people think, ‘Well, what else can I do?’â€

Since Saturday Ischgl has experienced two avalanches. Children were caught under the first, but were not injured. It is thought that the build-up of layers of snow and ice has led to a severe build-up, making avalanches more likely.

Rainer Silberberger, mayor of the Wildschönauer region, said: “We are working around the clock to clear roads and secure the snowfalls. I’ve never seen weather like it.â€

The snowfall is only 50cm short of equalling Ischgl’s record-breaking fall of 6.5m, measured over three months in 1999.

© The Times

100713460_austria_251071c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

Ischgl is next door to Galtur which was the site of a very serious avalanche in 1999

http://www.slideshare.net/GRFDavos/the-avalanche-catastrophe-of-galtrpdf

The current situation is not dissimilar and potentially very serious.

In 1999 a huge amount of snow fell on the opposite side of the valley, traversing the full width and damaged buildings in a blast wave of snow and wind.

Although new defences were installed it's unlikely they can do anything but somewhat reduce the impact of a similar avalanche.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

100713460_austria_251071c.jpg

Is this pic from Austria? It's very dramatic but some people are saying it's not a recent pic from Austria but is from somewhere else (Tokyo? Do they even get that much snow lol)in the past.

Amazing though what's happening over there, too much snow is a bad thing I suppose for a ski resort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Is this pic from Austria? It's very dramatic but some people are saying it's not a recent pic from Austria but is from somewhere else (Tokyo? Do they even get that much snow lol)in the past.

Amazing though what's happening over there, too much snow is a bad thing I suppose for a ski resort.

As far as I know. It was in group of six photos but I didn't make a note of the link. I think it came from here but it's only showing on the link now. Still some great photos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084917/European-ski-resorts-lockdown-freak-snowfalls-cut-road-rail-air-links.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

As far as I know. It was in group of six photos but I didn't make a note of the link.

Yeh I seen it on a Daily newspaper site, it's certainly being passed off as being from Austria but alot of the comments I read on the story were saying it wasn't genuine (from Austria anyway) so not sure. Amazing all the same, and the locals say they get alot of snow here nothiing compared to out there lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...