A pretty slow storm depression called Elmar is situated above the the North Sea today and sends with its current from the northwest cold air to the north side of the Alps. It started snowing on Sunday morning and it will keep on snowing lightly until Sunday afternoon (and you can even expect some moderate snowfall in the Austrian main alpine ridge). The snow line will drop to 1000 meters in the night to Monday and it will start snowing heavily on the north side of the main alpine ridge. It will keep on snowing till Tuesday morning and you can expect 20-60 cm of fresh snow, locally even a meter. The sun will come out after that, but only for a while. In this forecast:
- First snowfall for the Alps on Sunday
- Heavy snowfall from Sunday to Monday and it will keep on snowing till Tuesday
- The sun will come out on Tuesday (afternoon)
- Long term: more snowfall by the end of the week?
First snowfall for the Alps on Sunday
It’s been snowing in the Alps since this morning. It is snowing lightly and even moderately in the Austrian main alpine ridge. The front will stick around the longest in this region, so you can expect that the most snow came down here by the end of the afternoon. The snow line will drop from 2000 to 1000 meters. You can check out on the webcams how it felt like autumn yesterday, but just looks grey with fresh snow coming down today.
Heavy snowfall from Sunday to Monday and it will keep on snowing till Tuesday
The cold air will reach the Alps by the end of the afternoon. The snow line will drop towards 1000 meters. It will start snowing heavily from that moment, from the French northern Alps up to the eastern regions in Austria.
Switzerland
The most snow is calculated for the northern Swiss alpine ridge in the next 72 hours. It will be snowing heavily above 2000 meters especially in the region that stretches from the Schilthorn (Mürren) to the Glanerland. The northern Swiss alpine ridge (nördlicher Alpenkamm) is a barrier of high peaks just south of Zurich. You can check it out on the map below.
When you have a look on the snow map of Switzerland, then you’ll see that this ridge will get more fresh snow compared to the main alpine ridge, which is located more to the south. The northern alpine ridge is showing some nice red colors. This is the region where you can expect 50-100 cm of fresh snow above 2000 meters.
Austria
It will also snow heavily in Austria the next 72 hours. Especially around the Grossglockner you can expect a lot of snow and that’s mainly because it’s already snowing there today. The glaciers will pick up 30-60 cm of fresh snow and that might be a bit more around the Kitzsteinhorn.
France
It will mostly snow in the French northern Alps. You don’t have to expect that much snowfall in the Isère and the Savoie. The clouds will dissolve south of the Maurienne valley. Check out the snow maps of the Savoie, where you can easily see that.
The sun will come out on Tuesday (afternoon)
The weather will calm down from Tuesday. HIgh pressure will reach the Alps from the west. There might be some room for the sun on Tuesday afternoon, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. Those two days will be really nice with bluebird conditions and fresh snow, but don’t even think about leaving the marked slopes. Remember, summer was warm and the crevasses are deep, so stay on the slopes if you want to ride some fresh snow. Check out this report from Matthias Hargin and Oskar Enander.
Long term: more snowfall by the end of the week?
All the weather models (including our own) forecast snow for the end of the week and you can expect more unstable weather for the period after that. When you have a look at our snow maps for the next 14 days (pay attention, wepowder Pro, check out the map below) can see red colors on the north side of the main alpine ridge. That means another 50-100 cm of fresh snow.
But I would like to point out that this is not yet certain. High pressure is on the verge of dominating the sky above the Alps. The models calculate a scenario today where we can expect more snowfall, but that may change in the coming days. It’s pretty exciting and I’ll keep on posting more updates the next couple of days.
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Stay stoked,
Morris