Forecast

As a high-pressure system approaches from the west, the Alps will experience a brief period of dry and warmer weather. However, before it clears up everywhere, the northern side of the Alps will still see some leftover snow showers due to a northerly wind today.

After a beautiful week with snow and then sun, the weather is becoming more changeable in the Alps. Today brings some snow in the French Alps and Sunday it’s Austria’s turn. We are also looking ahead to the Christmas period.

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.

After a weekend of snowfall, the Alps and Pyrenees enter calmer waters. From the north, the influence of a strong high pressure area increases. It becomes increasingly stable and snowfall is limited.

The weather models are not making it easy for us in recent days. Fluctuating model outputs from run to run mean that there is no clear picture about the upcoming snowfall. Where will most of it fall?

We can speak of a decent early season where cold periods with snow alternate with milder and dry high-pressure weather. Many regions are still waiting for a good base, and that wait might soon be rewarded.

Take a look at this snow map! A lot of snow is coming for the Northwest Alps. However, the colourful map fails to show one important ‘but’ and that is that the uncertainty about the snowfall (both quantities and distribution) for the weekend is still quite high.

A high-pressure area over Central and Eastern Europe will dominate the Alps starting today. This will result in stable weather with plenty of sunshine. East of Salzburg, it will remain cloudy today with some snow showers, which will increasingly be confined to Lower Austria and the eastern part of Styria (Wienerwald, Mariazell and surroundings) this afternoon.

Storm Conall’s cold front has reached the Alps and snow is currently falling on the north side. On Friday, eastern Austria will be the only one to get some extra. It will then remain dry until early next week.

The very mild air has left the Alps and many regions are still waiting for their first real dump. Only the French and Swiss Alps have a reasonable base above around 2000 meters. A depression moving over the Netherlands today will cut off as an upper-level low and will be near Greece by Friday.