Pitztal Glacier, Austria

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6 Day Weather Forecast for 2590 m altitude, issued (local time): 00 am 24 Jul 2008

	Days 0-3 Pitztal Glacier Weather Summary: Light rain (total 6.0mm), mostly falling on Fri afternoon . Freeze-thaw conditions (max 11°C on Fri morning, min -1°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.									Days 4-6 Pitztal Glacier Weather Summary: Light rain (total 9.0mm), mostly falling on Mon afternoon . Very mild (max 12°C on Tue morning, min 1°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.
	Wed 23 night	Thu 24 morn- ing	Thu 24 after- noon	Thu 24 night	Fri 25 morn- ing	Fri 25 after- noon	Fri 25 night	Sat 26 morn- ing	Sat 26 after- noon	Sat 26 night	Sun 27 morn- ing	Sun 27 after- noon	Sun 27 night	Mon 28 morn- ing	Mon 28 after- noon	Mon 28 night	Tue 29 morn- ing	Tue 29 after- noon
Wind (km/h)
Summary	clear	clear	clear	clear	rain shwrs	rain shwrs	some clouds	cloudy	some clouds	clear	clear	cloudy	some clouds	rain shwrs	light rain	rain shwrs	clear	rain shwrs
Snow cm	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rain mm	-	-	-	-	1	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	4	1	-	2
Max °C	3	9	9	6	11	10	6	9	9	6	11	8	7	11	10	7	12	10
Min °C	-1	7	7	0	10	7	2	7	7	1	9	7	3	11	8	1	10	8
WChill °C	-5	5	5	-2	9	5	0	7	5	-1	9	7	2	10	7	-2	9	7
Freezing level (m)	3500	3650	3850	3950	3950	4000	4050	3800	3900	3850	3700	3850	3900	3850	4000	3950	3850	4000
Sunrise	-	4:46	-	-	4:47	-	-	4:48	-	-	4:50	-	-	4:50	-	-	4:52	-
Sunset	-	-	19:59	-	-	19:58	-	-	19:55	-	-	19:54	-	-	19:53	-	-	19:52

The above table gives the weather forecast for Pitztal Glacier at the specific elevation of 2590 m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom stations of Pitztal Glacier. To access the weather forecasts for the other elevations, use the tab navigation above the table. For a wider view of the weather, check out the Weather Map" of Austria.

NOTE ABOUT FREEZING LEVELS AND TEMPERATURES
The freezing level that we forecast Pitztal Glacier is the  free air freezing level. (More specifically, it is the uppermost free air freezing level). This means that all of the air above this elevation is below freezing however it does not necessarily imply that all of the air below it is above freezing.  We provide this because it best describes the level where falling snow first starts to turn to rain. On average, snowflakes only stay frozen for about 100 metres (300 feet) below the free air freezing level. That's because air temperatures usually increase steadily as you descend - but not always.  For example, a temperature inversion describes a pool of cold air near the ground with a layer of warmer air above it. This is a common occurrence in winter when the wind is light. Such pools of dense cold air can vary from a few metres to several kilometres deep and can persist from hours to several weeks. In an inversion, it can be simultaneously below freezing in a mountain valley, and also at a nearby summit, yet above freezing at some elevation in between. Most visitors to the Alps are very familiar with this. Such conditions can allow snow to fall much more than the usual 100 metres below the top freezing level, even reaching the valley, just as long as snow did not pass through enough warm air to melt. Otherwise, freezing rain or re-frozen soft hail (there is even a German word for it - graupel) reaches the valley instead. Our forecasts allow for these possibilities which is why you may see forecasts of snowfall and frost at elevations far below the free-air freezing level, or valley temperatures that are lower than summit temperatures. You may even see forecasts of rain to fall even though it is just below freezing at the surface - that happens if our model predicts that there is a deep warm layer just above. None of these are as contradictory as they may seem at first.

All of our temperature forecasts for Pitztal Glacier are for the ground, not the air. These can be very different to free-air temperatures, especially at night. This can lead to what looks like a contradiction. Because the ground is such a good radiator of heat (especially on clear nights when there is a snow cover and the wind is light) surface temperatures often fall more than far below the free air temperatures - sometimes by more than 10 degrees. On such occasions, the snowpack freezes at elevations that are far below the free air freezing level. For example, in the European Alps, snow tends to freeze in valleys on still clear and still nights  even if the free air freezing level is above 3000m simply because snow is so efficient radiating its heat away. In reality there are two freezing levels; one just above the snow surface and another at 3000m with a layer of warmer temperatures in between where the snow may not freeze at all. In summary, the reason we provide surface temperatures is because these determine the condition of the snowpack.

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