After a cold PA #18 comes PA #19 with lots of snow but milder temperatures

It is cold in the Alps. Temperatures of minus 30 degrees were measured in the high alpine on Monday and Tuesday will get even colder especially in the east of the Alps. You do not have to be here on Tuesday. You'd better come to the western and especially the southern Piedmont now. PA #18 is in effect and at the time of writing there is more cold snow coming down. Tuesday will be sunny again during the day (except for some fog in the valleys) and Wednesday will also start sunny. Clouds will come in from the southwest during the day. It's the prelude to PA #19 for the southwest of the Alps. In this forecast:

• PA #18: cold smoke blower pow
• Freezing cold in the eastern Alps
• PA#19 snow for the southern French Alps, the Piedmont and the Aosta
• A new storm coming in on Saturday

PA#18: cold smoke blower pow

Cold powder fell in the Piedmont on Sunday and after a mix of sun and clouds on Monday, it started to snow again on Monday evening. You can expect anothern 5-10 cm in the western Piedmont and 10-20 cm, locally 25 cm in the southern Piedmont and the French Alpses Maritimes until tomorrow morning. It will be on in the southern Piedmont on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, especially when the sun comes out on Tuesday and Wednesday. PowderAlert #18 is still in effect for:

• the western and southern Piedmont
• the extreme south and east of the southern French Alps
• the Apennines: (Toscane and Emilia-Romagna)

The video below is from Artesina in the southern Piedmont and has been shot on Monday.

Freezing cold in the eastern Alps

What if you can not go to the Piedmont? Go touring? The combination of clouds, sometimes even some snow, a cold wind and extremely low temperatures result in extreme conditions in the ski areas east of Innsbruck today. Wear a warm jacket and be alert to freezing symptoms. Not an ideal day for touring. You're better off in the western Alps and the Dolomites. Although it is also cold over there and clouds are present. But if you encounter persistent clouds in the valleys, you should hop in the gondola and you'll notice that the sun will be shining just above 1500-2000 meters, especially in the morning. It is also cold, but in these harsh times a little bit of sunshine makes a big difference.

Wednesday will be much better. The sun comes out in large parts of the Alps and it feels a lot more pleasant. It gets cloudy only in the southwest during the day and it starts to snow.

PA#19 snow for the southern French Alps, the Piedmont and the Aosta

A storm depression coming from the southwest will determine the weather in the Alps from Wednesday. Humid air is pushed into the southwest of the Alps with a southern current. You can already expect a lot of snow in the southern French Alps on Wednesday and you can also expect quite a bit of snow in the Piedmont and the Aosta (most of the snow will come down south of the Ecrins) in the night from Wednesday to Thursday and on Thursday itself. The snow line will initially be deep into the valleys, but will rise somewhat during the course of Thursday. Because it is very cold in the valleys I suspect that this will go very slow. Therefore, you can expect about 20-50, locally 70 cm of fresh snow at 1500-2000 meters up to and including Friday. It will quickly become milder and sunny on Friday. Bear in mind that this snow (which is heavier) falls on top of ice-cold powder and that the avalanche risk will rise rapidly. At least to CONSIDERABLE (3 on a scale of 5), but it might rise to HIGH (4 on a scale of 5). Keep that in mind.

PA#19 is ON on Thursday and Friday for:

• the southern French Alps
• the Piedmont (especially the resorts bordering France)

A new storm coming in on Saturday

A new storm is in the forecast for Saturday. And again, it's coming from the southwest with lots of snow for the southern French Alps and the rest of the southern Alps. But the biggest question mark is the temperature. The models now assume the snow line around 700-1200 meters, but a relatively high freezing level.

It's a safe bet to head to the southwest of the Alps. It is ON in the western and especially southern Piedmont until Wedneday. It will also be good on Thursday and Friday and it gets even better south of the Ecrins and there is snow on the maps on Saturday. And the rest of the Alps? Be patient or drive towards the southwest!

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Stay stoked. Morris