A cold front hit eastern Austria on Saturday night – and as predicted, this was accompanied by strong winds and storms: the wind whistled at more than 100 km/h on the mountains in Mariazeller Land and in the Fischbacher Alps. Even higher wind peaks were measured in Upper and Lower Austria: Buchberg in the Vienna Woods set a new record of 151 km/h (!), while 126 km/h were registered on the Jauerling in the Wachau and on the Feuerkogel in Gmunden.
In the district of Eferding (Upper Austria), a 56-year-old died when he wanted to repair his roof after the storm. The man placed an aluminum ladder against the gutter on the first floor terrace and climbed up. He wanted to replace the damaged roof tiles. But the ladder slipped and the 56-year-old fell from a height of around six meters.
Hit by tree
In Salzburg, shortly before midnight, a tree fell on the Gransdorfer Landesstraße and hit the car of a 23-year-old: the woman was injured and could not free herself from the wreck. Luckily, another driver spotted her and alerted emergency services. “The tree was lifted by the volunteer fire departments in Berndorf, Seeham and Obertrum and the vehicle was cut open using scissors,” the police said on Saturday.
Luckily there were no injuries in Styria. The fitters from Energie Steiermark were in demand: at times, 2000 households were without electricity. In the Pöls-Oberkurzheim area, a tree damaged a power line, and a fire broke out on the embankment. The southern railway line was temporarily closed. In the meantime, the state roads L 131 and L 102 had to be closed for a short time in the Veitsch area.
Ski areas turn off lifts, Schönbrunn Zoo remains closed
Ski areas in Upper Styria temporarily stop operating their lifts. “Due to high wind speeds, Polster Classic, Polster Quattro and Grübl Quattro cannot currently go into operation,” reported the Präbichl mountain railways. On Saturday the gusts reached almost 87 km/h there.
In the Brunnalm-Veitsch ski area, the 4-seater panorama chair was closed, and the lifts on the Loser were only partially in operation, due to the storm there could still be changes.
In Vienna, the Austrian Federal Gardens had already announced that they would not be able to open the Schönbrunn Palace Park in the morning due to the predicted storm. A visit to the zoo was also not possible. The zoo is also closed in Haag in the Mostviertel: “A stay would be too dangerous because of falling branches,” they say.
Train evacuated, theater roof “crumpled up like tinfoil”
In Upper Austria, the emergency services were called on Friday evening in St. Pankraz (Kirchdorf district) to evacuate a train. The wind had damaged the overhead line. A rail replacement service was set up for the 35 passengers. Nobody got hurt.
In the provincial capital of Linz, the roof of the Kammerspiele was largely destroyed. As the state theater announced in a press release on Saturday, “the tin roof of the stage tower was crumpled up like tin foil,” says Thomas Königstorfer, commercial director of the state theater. Nobody was injured.
Strong gusts and damage in Lower Austria and Vienna
The professional fire brigade in Vienna spoke to the APA of 50 missions. “It was about fallen trees, scaffolding and loose roof tiles and windows,” said spokesman Lukas Schauer.
Branch sticking out in bedroom
The storm also kept the fire brigades on their toes throughout Lower Austria on Saturday night. In the Gmünd district, a tree fell on the roof of a residential building during the night. A branch pierced the building’s outer shell and entered a woman’s bedroom. He missed the sleeping woman by only half a meter.
By early morning there had been around 100 alarms for storm damage, said fire brigade spokesman Franz Resperger when asked by APA. For the most part, however, it was only minor routine operations such as fallen trees and billboards or removed roof tiles.
It won’t get warmer again until the beginning of the week
With the cold front of the low, the snow line in the west of the country gradually falls into the valleys on Saturday night. According to the Unwetterzentrale (UWZ), 20 cm of fresh snow can be expected in the middle areas.
In the course of the day, the weather service Geosphere Austria expects the storm to subside. “In the east, however, this can only be expected in the evening,” said meteorologist Thomas Wostal of the Austria Press Agency.
From the beginning of the week it will be milder again. On Monday, 15 degrees are possible again in Styria. On Tuesday, an Italian low could also bring rain in the south. “And in the second half of the week, the temperatures are heading towards 20 degrees again,” says meteorologist Martin Kulmer from Geosphere Austria.