A weak cold front is visiting the northwest of the Alps today and will bring some flakes above 1800 meters in the Haute Savoie and the Swiss Bernese Oberland. It’s only 2-5 cm, so it’s not enough for a powder day, but at least it brings a good vibe. When you look at our snow maps you won’t see any significant snowfall the next couple of days.
This week: sunny or some snow?
The American GFS model and the European ECMWF model have a little Christmas battle. Both see some precipitation for the Gulf of Genoa, but according to ECMWF this precipitation won’t reach the Alps. And they’re probably right. The Po Valley is currently mainly filled with a layer of air that’s been around for about four weeks. Due to the dominant high pressure system the air layer didn’t really move and it’s filled with emissions from heaters, cars, factories, but also with the natural emission of particulate matter that got nowhere to go in this lower layer of aur. Let’s hope some rain will reach the Po Valley that will clean the air a little bit. I don’t expect lots of snow. The small front that will reach the northern Alps around Christmas won’t bring that much snow either. Some white flakes on a dry ground. We need more than that.
Change is coming around New Year
I explained to you yesterday that a very strong Polar Vortex is the cause of the long drought in the Alps. I have then explained that this can take a long time because of the self-reinforcing effect of this phenomenon, but that a breakthrough normally takes place after 45-60 days. And that’s why I’m increasingly hopeful that the change in the weather will come around the start of the new year. That means we’ll have to wait for better times, but you now also know that the change is coming. Read more about the Polar Vortex here.
For now: hold your horses. There’s no good powder to be found in the Alps. Do you really want to ride powder the next couple of days? There are plenty of resorts where you can ride great powder. But unfortunately, you won’t find them in the Alps. North America (especially the west) is the place to be!
Stay stoked, Morris