After the cold period at the beginning of November we are on the eve of a strong sirocco (that's a hot wind) from the Sahara. But before the sirocco kicks in we can ride some freshies at the south side of the Alps this weekend. In this forecast:
A weak front will gently touch the east of Switzerland and the northern border of Austria on Wednesday. This results in rain below the 2000-2200 meters and snow above that altitude. It is the combination of warm moist air and rain that will influence (read will melt) the existing snow cover on the northern side of the Alps below 1500-1900 meters. That won't happen within a day, but the snow cover will experience some high temperatures. It's not that bad on the south side of the Alps, because it is not raining there and the air is much drier. The weekend fortunately will bring some lower temperatures.
The current will turn to the southwest during Thursday and it will start to snow on the southern side of the Alps. It will keep on snowing on Friday and the snowfall will intensify from time to time. The cold front will arrive on Saturday and the current on the north side of the Alps will temporarily turn to the northwest. The Alps will end up in a kind of snow sandwich (snow from both the northwest and the southwest). The sun will come out again on Sunday. Right now, I expect the weather to be like this from Thursday:
Western Alps
Northern Alps
Southern Alps
It's only Tuesday, so it's a little early, but you can already start looking around. With the strong Föhn coming up on the north side of the Alps on Sunday, there will be a lot transportation of snow. For this reason, you're probably better of on the southern side of the Alps. The snow cover is still pretty thin on the Diavolezza, but Solda am Ortler and Val Senales are looking pretty good. More details the next couple of days.
The jetstream will move to the south from Sunday and this will result in warm air from the northern Sahara is pushed towards the Alps. The Alps will have to deal with that warm wind a couple of days. The north side of the Alps will be much warmer than the south side. The snow line will especially rise on the north side of the main alpine ridge.
Stay stoked. Morris