High pressure prevalent, some regional snowfalls expected

We begin this forecast with a beautiful cam shot taken at sunrise this morning from the Faulhorn near Grindelwald. At the same time, the nearby Sägistalsee (a well-known Swiss cold spot at 1937m) recorded -24 degrees. All over the Alps, the high valleys recorded a (slightly less) severe frost. The clear skies that make these temperatures possible are caused by a high-pressure area moving from the British Isles to the continent. This also means that little snow is expected for the time being.

More and more lifts are running

The low-pressure area over France that caused a snowstorm in the Pyrenees has also brought enough snow to the Massif Central to open the lifts there. Most French and Spanish areas are open or will open soon. Lift-assisted freeride is thus becoming possible in more and more places. The best conditions can be found in the Pyrenees from 1400 meters and in the Western Alps from 1800 meters. The Genoa low has now almost dissipated but, as expected, has brought a lot of snow to the Apennines and Dinaric Alps. Even in Corsica, ski tourers were already out yesterday, taking advantage of half a meter of powder.

High pressure, but possibly some snow in the French Alps on Friday

The air pressure in the Alps continues to rise, reaching over 1030 hPa on Friday. The high-pressure weather with plenty of sunshine will therefore persist for a while. These are good conditions to go into the mountains with little wind and temperatures around freezing at 1500 meters. On Friday, the West and South Alps will become cloudy due to a weak low-pressure area moving in from the west which dries out quickly after reaching the Alps. Nevertheless, both major weather models (GFS and ECMWF) still squeeze out some snow. Especially in the French Alps, around 10 cm could fall above 1500 meters. On the southern side of the Alps, a snow shower is also possible, but it will not amount to much.

Change of high-pressure guard, some snow possible in the Northern Alps on Sunday and Monday

Over the weekend, the dominant high-pressure area will move to Eastern Europe, quickly being replaced by a new, even stronger one. The air pressure may rise to over 1040 hPa by Tuesday in this significant warm-blooded high. On Sunday, some moist polar air will slip between the high-pressure areas down to the Alps. The freezing level will drop to 800-1200 meters, and a weak northwest stau will likely bring some snow to the north of the main ridge, particularly in Austria. Ten centimeters seems quite possible, and this morning the weather models are predicting over 20 cm east of Salzburg, a region that has already has been lucky a few times before during this early season.

Mild and dry continuation

The warm-blooded high will settle around the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa next week. This creates a very anti-wintry setting. With a southern upper flow, temperatures at 1500 meters will rise to around +10 degrees. Fortunately, it is December and the sun is low. However, the south-facing slopes will lose some snow, and many low valleys will turn green again. There are indications that it will become more changeable with chances of snow as we approach Christmas…