What was it hot yesterday. In some valleys we saw temperature rise to beyond the 20+ celcius mark. And oh, in case you missed it; it’s was January the 10th yesterday. What a difference compared to today. Temperatures have dropped with 15 to 25 degrees in less than 24 hours. Snowlevels have dropped and it feels like winter again. And although the start of this week will be rather warm, winter will be back soon. Powder alert # 6 is coming. Jetzt geht’s los or like the Frencj say; C’est parti !!! .
Looking back
Yes, it was incredible warm. We saw rain up to 2800 meters combined with gailforce winds. As a result the avalanche danger went up to High and conditions are still pretty sketchy. Fortunately, winter is back today. Although there is still al lot of wind, temperatures have dropped and there is fresh snow. The birdhouse in the Bregenz again has snow on its roof and the next 24 hours you may expect another 5-20 cm , locally even 30 cm.
Short term: Monday is a powder day
Monday is a powder day in the Northern Alps and the north of the French Alps. It is cold, there is fresh powder and you can certainly find a nice line. Please note that the temperatures will go up during the day and the fact that the snow is still unstable. It is certainly not the dump of the century, but enjoy and get the most out of it. On Tuesday it will be warmer again and then …
Where to go ? Well , think of the usual suspects. Conditions will be good at the Kleinwalsertal, Bregenzerwald and around the Arlberg. You may expect 25-40 centimeter of freshies. Probably just enough to not feel the hard frozen layer beneath it. During Monday it will be sunny and temperatures will be on the rise. Tuesday will be even hotter in the Northern Alps as a warm southwesterlyw wind is coming in. In the night to Wednesday we mifght see the first flakes then in the western and southern Alps.
Medium term , c’est parti!
Powder Alert 1 and 2 were for the Southern Alps , powder alert 3 was aimed at Norway and powder alert 4 and 5 were for the (eastern) Northern Alps. #6 will be for the French Alps. And there is also a lot of snow in the forecast for the so called Alpe di Giulia (east of the Dolomites) and Slovenia. Chances are that the the other regions will also benefit from this powder alert. A strong westerly flow is popping up in the charts. At first with a southwest component in it, but rapidly turning to west or even northwest as of Friday. Since the jetstream will be located south of The Alps (and thus colder air is moving into the Alps) the Alps will see storm after storm moving in.
1 to 2 meters of fresh pow?
Chances are that until next Monday, 1 to 2 meters of fresh snow will fall in the French Northern Alps. Also the Swiss Glanerland and areas west of the Arlberg will normally pick up some snow when it’s coming in from the west. More details to come in the next few days. But one thing is certain; wax up!
Stay stoked
Morris
Replies
Was skiing in 20cm of fresh powder at Zauchansee yesterday (11th Jan). Was quite unexpected as early morning was rain in valley but by midday we were sheltering from the wind in the trees riding untracked powder - there were so few people around :)
Snow continued overnight and here in Schladming town around 15cms fresh snow, has now stopped and the sun out. I’m stuck in waiting for a delivery, ahhhhh.
@@Waynos, thanks for sharing… hope your delivery will arrive soon ;)