Snow levels across the country have reached nearly a decade high, with power outages in Carinthia and up to 30 centimeters of snow falling in Burgenland.
Residents of eastern and southeastern Austria woke up today and saw the heaviest snowfall in nine years, with even more snow forecast for the afternoon of December 10.
In Burgenland, up to 30 centimeters of snow fell overnight Wednesday, and in Carinthia, in the districts of St. Veit an der Glahn, Spittal an der Drau and Villach-Land, the electricity was cut off in several hundred homes after nearly 40 centimeters of snow fell.
Twenty to 40 centimeters of snow fell in the mountains, and according to the international meteorological service Ubimet, 50 to 60 centimeters of snow have already fallen in Vorarlberg, East Tyrol and Carinthia.
Even in the capital Vienna, several centimeters of snow have fallen, and many public transportation routes were suspended Thursday morning.
The Austrian Center for Adverse Weather has declared the highest level of alert for Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Carinthia, and snowplows have taken to the streets to keep roads in working order.
The Kronen Zeitung newspaper reports that emergency services were busy dealing with cars stuck in the snow, fallen trees and pedestrians falling in the slippery streets.
Snowfall is forecast to intensify across the country Friday, especially in the east and southeast, while snowfall is expected to ease in the west in the afternoon.
Upper Austria is the only part of the country where heavy snowfall is not forecast. A light layer of snow is reported in the western Danube and Linz, and up to 10 centimeters is expected in the province.