According to the ORF weather department, the greatest amounts of rain are expected by the beginning of next week from the Tyrolean lowlands through Salzburg, Upper Styria and Upper Austria to Lower Austria and Vienna. In total, there will be an additional 100 to 200 litres of rain per square metre in addition to the rain that has already fallen, most likely in the Mostviertel and the Vienna Woods. These are amounts that have rarely or never been measured in such a short space of time, according to the ORF weather department.
In addition, there will be “absolutely unusual” amounts of snow in higher elevations for mid-September. The weather situation will be made worse by stormy northwest winds, especially in the mountains and in eastern Austria – more on this at wetter.ORF.at.
First evacuations in Lower Austria
The large amounts of rain are accompanied by a significantly increased risk of flooding. In Lower Austria, floods are expected on the Danube to occur once every 30 years. Floods are expected on the Kamp to occur once every 100 years. On Friday evening, the first evacuations were already taking place in some communities, such as Zöbing, part of Langenlois (Krems-Land district). “Things will get worse” along the Kamp in particular, said Klaus Stebal, spokesman for the Lower Austrian state fire brigade command – more on this at noe.ORF.at.
“The hydrological forecasts are becoming more intense and more severe,” it was said this morning after a briefing in the Lower Austrian state command staff. 50 to 150 millimeters of precipitation had already been recorded since Thursday and further precipitation totals of up to 230 millimeters were forecast for the next 48 hours. “Accordingly, a rapid and significant increase in the water flow in all waterways is to be expected,” the Lower Austrian state government further announced in a press release.
Early warning level along the Enns
In Upper Austria, too, the rainfall became significantly heavier during the night into Saturday. As a result, the water levels in the rivers are constantly rising here too. In Steyr, the early warning level was already reached along the Enns on Friday evening – more on this at ooe.ORF.at.
Emergency services in Vienna are also on high alert. Storms of up to 90 km/h are expected on Saturday – and the rain will be even heavier, especially in the west of the city: “Within a few hours, we’ll have as much rain as we normally would in the whole of September,” said Radio Vienna meteorologist Kevin Hebenstreit – more on this at wien.ORF.at.
Road closures and traffic disruptions
Storm damage caused numerous fire service operations in Lower Austria during the night. There were also delays at Vienna Airport in Schwechat (Bruck an der Leitha district) due to the weather. Several railway lines were suspended as a preventive measure on Saturday morning, and this measure applies to regional bus services on the left bank of the Danube in the Wachau from the end of operations on Saturday.
Weather extremes & climate crisis
Although individual extreme events cannot be directly attributed to a specific cause, one thing is clear, according to the current IPCC report: Due to the climate crisis, extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat are becoming more frequent and more intense. This means that precipitation and storms are becoming heavier, heat waves are becoming hotter and droughts are becoming drier.
Due to heavy snowfall, the ÖBB also closed a section of the Tauern route on Friday. The route is expected to remain closed until Monday. In addition, some sections of road in the state of Salzburg are closed – more information at salzburg.ORF.at.
“Calm before the storm”
The Styrian state warning center reported on Saturday morning that the weather was tense but still relatively calm. The fire service operations so far have mainly involved fallen trees. In higher elevations, vehicles have also been recovered due to snowfall. As in other federal states, the situation is expected to worsen in Styria.
“The calm before the storm could even be literally true. The wind speeds will now increase continuously and will actually reach up to 100 km/h even in the lowlands on Saturday and Sunday, and that is significant,” said Harald Eitner, head of the disaster control department of the state of Styria – more on this at steiermark.ORF.at.
In Burgenland, too, the storm front currently sweeping across Austria has so far caused storm damage. The amount of rain, however, was lower than had been forecast – more on this at burgenland.ORF.at.
Snow chains required temporarily for Arlberg
There is only a slight increase in water levels in Tyrol. However, snowfall in the mountains is causing deep winter conditions – more on this at tirol.ORF.at. The connection between Tyrol and Vorarlberg via the Arlberg Pass is also affected. The onset of winter has caused the L198 between Warth and Lech to be closed. In addition, snow chains were compulsory on the pass road until the morning – more on this at vorarlberg.ORF.at.
Van der Bellen appeals to the population
A briefing on the storm situation will be held at noon by the State Crisis and Disaster Management (SKKM) with the state control centers in the Ministry of the Interior, with the participation of Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
Meanwhile, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed his thanks to all those who are currently working, mostly on a voluntary basis. The current storm emergency will put “all of us” to the test in the coming hours and days, and the top priority is to “be there for one another,” according to Van der Bellen’s video appeal. “Perhaps the family next door needs help securing their basement, or the neighbor who is no longer so mobile would be happy if someone did some shopping for them.”
