It’s warm in the Alps. That warm that the freezing level is around 3000 meters during the day. The risk of wet snow avalanches is increasing, especially because the snow cover is getting more humid in large parts of the northern and western Alps. Check this article for more information and don’t forget to check your local avalanche bulletin on a daily basis.
Nice powder can only be found on steeper north faces that aren’t that much influenced by the sun. That means you’ll have to hike and search for powder. Don’t forget that this kind of backcountry skiing and snowboarding requires some knowledge and skills.
It will be too warm in the Alps until Saturday, after that there will be some room for a northern Stau. This will happen on Saturday. More details about this on Thursday, but there’s no doubt that a northern Stau is coming up. The most important weather models agree and are showing maps for the weekend that are nearly identical.
A north-northeastern current is visible on the map below that will reach the Alps on Saturday. This current brings cold air and snow. You can expect it to snow in the eastern parts of Austria, but it’s not quite sure for the resorts in the west of Tirol. More details about that on Thursday. The snow line will drop and this will result in snowfall on Saturday and Sunday.
The ECMWF scenario is showing a scenario for the long term with persistent snowfall, but the GFS model is already showing warm air coming in after the weekend. It’s too early to tell which model is right. Again, more information on Thursday.
After the weekend: warmer or northwest stau?
Conclusion
Much colder with snowfall in the Austrian northern Alps this weekend. The snow line will drop and there are new powder days to come. Snow quantities aren’t quite sure yet.
And after: PA #23?
First we’ll just have to wait and see what PowderAlert #22 will be like. The ultralong term is interesting because it’s showing a lot of indicators that might result in snow for the north. But nothing is sure yet. The northstau is visible on the map of GFS, but it completely disappeared on the map of ECMWF.
The ensembles of GFS aren’t giving us enough certainty at the moment. The calculations go up and down. But hey, if its coming, you might enjoy some awesome powder days in March!
More on Thursday!
Stay stoked
Morris