Fresh snow for the eastern Alps (small PowderAlert)

We are on the eve of a comeback of winter. An active cold front follows in the night to Monday after the summer temperatures of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The temperature will drop by at least 10 degrees and fresh snow falls in the northern Stau regions of Austria and the east of Switzerland.

A northern current is temporarily created between high pressure area Irmelin and the low pressure area Louie. As a result, colder air finds its way to the Alps. A cold front develops on the separation of these layers of air and is pressed against the northern side of the Alps in the night to Monday. It can snow heavily especially from Monday afternoon up to and including Tuesday morning.

This provides a usable layer of fresh snow in the higher parts of the Zentral Schweiz, Vorarlberg, western Tyrol, the glacier regions of Tyrol and the higher parts of the Salzburgerland between Sunday evening and Wednesday morning. The snow has remained fresh despite the warmth of recent days on the steepest northern slopes. With the new snow on top, that means that on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you can still have some powder days.

PowderAlert?

I expect 15-25 cm, locally 35 cm in the best located regions. The location (mountains with a northwest to north exposure will get the most snow) and the degree of moisture and heat that have bundled together just before the arrival of the front in the valleys where the cold air will suddenly pop up from Sunday to Monday are decisive. The first precipitation is calculated for the night from Sunday to Monday. But don’ty expect really large quantities. Most snow falls during Monday and it will be pretty cold then. There is a strong wind from the north on the peaks and ridges and the snowfall is pretty changeable. Very intense one moment, just a few flakes the next. The differences can therefore be quite large locally due to the flexible nature of the front.

I expect the best snow above the tree line on Tuesday and Wednesday. In particular bowls and couloirs that are oriented to the north can be very good. At the same time, ridges and peak will often be bare due to the wind. So just take care on the first meters and then blast through the fresh pow. Due to the flexible nature it is difficult to name exact resorts, but I will keep an eye on the measuring stations on Monday and keep you informed where most of the snow will fall so you know in time where you should be on Tuesday. In short:

• Sunday: mild and sunny
• Monday: considerably colder and snow for the northern stau areas and the glaciers north of the main alpine ridge in Austria. Also snow for the east of Switzerland. Sunny, but colder in the rest of the Alps.
• Tuesday: Snowfall in particular in the northern stau regions and glaciers north of the main alpine ridge in Austria. Maybe some sun in the afternoon. The rest of the Alps colder and sunny.
• Wednesday: snowfall again for northern Stau areas and higher areas of Salzburgerland and Styria.
• Thursday: dry and sunny

Weekend milder and sunny

Next weekend will be milder and sunny again. You can ride powder above 1900 meters from Tuesday in:

• Central Switzerland
• Vorarlberg
• the west of Tyrol
• the glacier regions of Tyrol
• the higher parts of the Salzburgerland

Stay stoked,
Morris