Rain, snowfall and lots of wind

A little bit of snow came down on the north side of the main alpine ridge today. It’s enough to color the alpine meadows white. It’s not much, but it definitely looks better than those artificial ribbons. But it won’t be white for long. The temperature will rise again and the snow will melt again up to high altitude. A new front for the Salzburgerland, Styria and Ober- en Niederösterreich will come in on Boxing Day. The temperature will drop, it starts to snow and you can expect some heavy winds. The best snow in the Alps can still be found in the Italian Piedmont and the French resorts on the border with Italy. We don’t have to expect significant snowfall for the Alps until 2017. In this forecast:

• A little bit of snow in the northern Alps
• Rain, snowfall and lots of wind
• The Piedmont still is the place to be
• Don’t expect any significant snow until 2017

A little bit of snow in the northern Alps

A whopping 1-4 centimeters of snow came down on the north side of the Alps (as in: mostly Austria) this morning. Santa is being generous. Check out the webcams below.

Rain, snowfall and lots of wind

Some snow came down last night, but what will happen the next couple of days?

• 25th of December: A warm front reaches the northern Alps. The snow line will rise to 2000 meters (or even higher). The sun is shining in the other regions in the Alps with unusually high temperatures.
• 26th of December: It’s mild and sunny in large parts of the Alps. The only exception in the east of Austria, where a cold front arrives during the morning. This front will bring some snow, but also lots of wind.
• 27th of December: It really starts to snow in the east of the Alps, but the wind is still really strong. You can expect some snowfall on Thursday as well, but the sun will come out the days after that thanks to a high pressure area. The temperatures are unusually high for the time of the year, expect in the east of the Alps, where it’s a bit colder.

Because of the heavy winds you have to be very careful in the resorts where it will snow!

The Piedmont still is the place to be

The reports of the last couple of days say it all. If you want to experience winter how it’s meant to be (so without artificial white ribbons on a brown mountain) you’ll have to go to the Piedmont. The short footage below was shot in Montgenèvre on Friday. You’ll find more pictures here. Check out the timeline of the PowderQuest application for more updates.

Don’t expect any significant snow until 2017

Don’t shoot the messenger guys. I would really like to change the snow maps, but you don’t have to expect any significant snowfall until the beginning of 2017. It’s too early for the details, but you better start dancing again. Have an awesome Christmas everybody!

Stay stoked. Morris