Avalanche warning service Tyrol

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Snow profile for the detection of potential weak layers within the snow cover

The Avalanche Warning Service Tirol ( short: LWD Tirol ) is a department of the civil and disaster control department of the Tyrolean provincial government and was founded in December 1960. It is purely a service medium and therefore informs the population about the current snow and avalanche situation by means of an avalanche forecast . This can be interpreted as a warning.

The avalanche forecast created daily by the department during the winter season is no longer just an indispensable part of preventive disaster control , but also for winter tourism. The current head of the avalanche warning service is Rudi Mair , his deputy Patrick Nairz.

organization

Avalanche warning is carried out at the level of the state of Tyrol by the avalanche warning service, while avalanche commissions are often set up at community level. They are responsible for assessing the avalanche situation on site and advise political decision-makers on taking measures to protect the population.

The LWD Tirol is also a member of the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS) working group .

Main tasks

The central component of the avalanche warning service is the daily publication (5:00 p.m.) of an avalanche forecast for the whole of Tyrol for the following day. This has been happening since the beginning of winter 2018 in cooperation with the avalanche warning services of the European regions of South Tyrol and Trentino and is available online under the name lawinen.report (en .: avalanche.report).

In addition to the information in the online avalanche bulletin, details on current snow cover analyzes , avalanche accidents or preventive measures are published on a blog at least once a week .

In addition to warning the population, winter sports enthusiasts and politicians, the LWD Tyrol takes on the documentation of avalanche events throughout Tyrol (with or without personal participation). At the end of the season, the collected data is statistically evaluated and published in the seasonal report of the Austrian Avalanche Warning Services.

As a service provider, the avalanche warning service also takes on advisory activities, prepares reports and creates basic data for snow and avalanche knowledge.

Creating the avalanche forecast

EAWS information pyramid

At the beginning of an avalanche forecast there is the analysis of various data sources (e.g. weather, observations in the field, feedback from winter sports enthusiasts, etc.). As a result, as detailed a picture as possible of the prevailing snowpack structure can be created.

In addition, the employees of the avalanche warning service independently conduct weekly terrain explorations in order to obtain a picture of the real composition of the snow cover using snow cover tests (e.g. shovel tests , slippery blocks , snow profiles , etc.). Ultimately, the LWD Tirol is also dependent on a large number of external observations in the Tyrolean mountains.

Ultimately, the challenge is to filter out those data from the abundance of data that are of central importance for making the forecast. Only then can the respective danger levels for predefined subregions within the state be determined and output.

Example of a cross-border avalanche forecast ( European region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino )

Innovations in the 2018/19 winter season

Before 2018, Tyrol was divided into 12 sub-regions , for each of which a (height-dependent) danger level including accompanying text was issued for the whole of Tyrol.

With the 2018/19 winter season , these regions were split up further - they were more than doubled . This makes it possible to offer an even more detailed avalanche forecast for ultimately 29 sub-regions . In the event of a similar avalanche situation, the avalanche warning officer on duty can summarize these into large regions with the same avalanche problems or hazard patterns . In addition, the accompanying text provides details on the avalanche situation in each major region. The large regions can also cross national borders within the European region.

Particular attention is paid, on the one hand, to the way relevant content is conveyed and, on the other hand, to its visualization . Based on the EAWS information pyramid , the most important detail - the danger level - must first be conveyed to the end user . Only then do information about z. B. Exposure and level of possible avalanche problems and hazard patterns etc.

These are represented using pictograms that are uniform within the EAWS.

Measuring stations

In order to be able to make an avalanche forecast at all, it is necessary to collect and evaluate relevant information about the formation of avalanches . The digital weather stations play an essential role here , with data from analogue measuring stations also being used and, for reasons of data consistency, must be.

The Tyrolean measuring network is one of the densest in the world and its measured values ​​can also be accessed online.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Astrid Tangl, Dagmar Unterberger, Christoph Mitterer, Georg Kronthaler, Harald Riedl, Hermann Brugger, Johann Seiwald, Jürg Schweizer, Michael Winkler, Norbert Hofer, Patrick Nairz, Paul Kößler, Paul Mair, Peter Paal, Peter Plattner, Robert Horntrich, Rudi Mair, Siegfried Sauermoser, Simon RAuch, Walter Würtl, Walter Zörer, Werner Beikircher: Avalanche warning and avalanche forecast . In: Office of the Tyrolean Provincial Government, Department for Civil Protection and Disaster Control, Avalanche Commission Matters (Ed.): Training manual of the Tyrolean Avalanche Commissions . 4th edition. Innsbruck 2018, p. 441 .
  2. ↑ a b EAWS: content and structure of the avalanche report (avalanche bulletin). (PDF) In: http://www.avalanches.org/ . EAWS, accessed January 21, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Tamara Kainz: Rudi Mair - the Stubai who dances with the avalanches! In: https : //www.mein Bezirk.at/hall-rum . Bezirksblätter Tirol GmbH, November 24, 2010, accessed on January 21, 2021 .
  4. ↑ a b https://avalanche.report/ accessed on Jan. 22, 2019
  5. ↑ Euregio Europaregion - Tyrol, South Tyrol, Trentino: Euregio Avalanche Management Report ALBINA. In: http://www.europaregion.info/ . November 30, 2018, accessed January 21, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Austrian Avalanche Center: Lawineninfo Austria. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Avalanche warning service information system. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .