BREATHE AGAIN

From October to April there are more favourable sunshine, radiation and cloud cover conditions in St. Veit im Pongau than there are in lowland areas. For instance, the town has only a third of the fog frequency experienced in the city of Salzburg. This bias predominantly comes into effect in autumn and winter when in lower locations the flow-off of cold air results in longer lasting fog cover. Such persistent fog situations, as in the large valleys and in the Alpine foothills, are very rare. The somewhat shorter duration of sunshine, compared to the flatter regions in the province, as a result of cumulus clouds above the mountains between May and August, is of little consequence.

In St. Veit im Pongau strong contrasts in brightness and colour (for instance bright clouds on blue skies, sunlit inner forest areas, vibrant autumn landscapes), enhanced UV radiation and characteristic cumulus clouds above the mountains, have a stimulating effect.

St. Veit im Pongau’s location at between 750 and 2200 metres altitude is defined as being very favourable with regard to the climatic elements of air temperature and humidity. There are no extreme cold spells in the winter months, while in the summer, heat and mugginess are very rare. It seldom gets so hot during the daytime that you feel uncomfortable, which it sometimes can do, even when wearing appropriate clothing or reduce your activity. By searching for shaded areas or higher altitudes, the thermal load in the afternoon can be considerably reduced, even on very hot days. Night-time cooling, which is very important for recovery from heat stress, is ensured in St. Veit im Pongau, even in these times of advancing climate change. The absence of long periods of high relative humidity and the low frequency of winter inversion situations makes this location very suitable as a climatic health resort.

Due to the type of landscape in this climatic health resort area, there are no longer prolonged periods of stagnant air. Sunny, high pressure weather systems create a local wind system (mountain-valley-wind, slope winds), which reduces heat load as well as any gathering of stagnant cold air. On average, periods when there is absolutely no wind occur only around three percent of all hours. By the same token, high wind speeds are very rare in this climatic spa resort. Most of the time a pleasant, very gentle wind blows here. Due to its geographical location, there is no major Föhn wind in St. Veit im Pongau. On average there are around ten days of Föhn winds each year, of which around a half are in spring and a third in autumn.

In contrast to northern regions in the state, there is practically never any extreme orographic rain. Rainfall occurrence is low for an Alpine area. The distribution of rainfall reveals that even the highest probability of rainfall on summer evenings is only just over 20%.