Increasing chances of snowfall next week

Increasing chances of snowfall next week
Still no winter pictures, but it is slowly getting colder
Still no winter pictures, but it is slowly getting colder

We have been dealing with an anti-winter weather setting for a few weeks now, which until now has been interrupted by only short interludes. The high values for the freezing level (up to 3000 meters in the past weeks due to the southwest current) will be a thing of the past from the weekend. From now on we will go towards winter, with more and more signals for snow appearing on the weather maps. Towards the end of the weekend we first end up in a somewhat colder (but still dry) situation. Next week there may be snow for the Northern Alps and then some for the Southern Alps, but the snowfall for the Southern Alps in particular is still not sure. In a week in which we have been told that the ski areas in Italy and France will remain closed for the time being, that is kind of good news. Although, on the other hand, we cannot do much with it. Crazy times for the ski industry, that’s for sure… Stay strong everybody. We’re with you.

Snow-poor southern slopes also in Switzerland
Snow-poor southern slopes also in Switzerland
A few centimeters of snow for the south of the Piedmont from tonight until tomorrow afternoon
A few centimeters of snow for the south of the Piedmont from tonight until tomorrow afternoon

Cosmetic coating for the south of the Piedmont

^The forecasts on wePowder are powdered by our friends at Ortovox

The possible precipitation on the south side of the Alps that I talked about on Monday was not standing very strong on the weather maps, but is now fizzling out. The low-pressure area that is above the Mediterranean from today and heads east, will cause some precipitation in the southernmost region of the Alps from tonight to tomorrow in the course of the afternoon. The south of Piemonte (Alpi Maritime) with ski areas such as Riserva Bianca - Limone and Prato Nevoso receives about 10 centimeters of snow above 1500 meters.

On the north side of the Alps, it remains sunny sunny today and tomorrow, apart from the low-hanging clouds in the Alpine foreland. During the night on Sunday, under the influence of a small high pressure area above Ukraine, considerably colder air and some clouds flow in from the northeast. The real cold air lingers just east of the Alps, but the east of Austria in particular also benefits. The rest of the Alps are not directly affected by this cold northeasterly current, but here too it cools down on Sundays.

Under the influence of an altitude layer in Eastern Europe, cold air scrapes the Eastern Alps from Sunday
Under the influence of an altitude layer in Eastern Europe, cold air scrapes the Eastern Alps from Sunday

Continuation of winter?

The weather maps have been reshuffled and can be called ‘winter’ compared to the past few weeks. Precisely at the same time as the start of the last calendar month, the frequency of snow moments for the Alps is increasing, yet high pressure is still lurking. Before this continues, we will first have to deal with sunny weather on Monday. Only in the extreme east of Austria does the cloud cover remain more persistent due to the influence of the altitude layer. Two high-pressure cores over Scandinavia and west of Ireland meet over Central Europe, driving the two elevation layers above the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe further east.

According to the ECMWF model, the center of gravity of the snowfall is in Switzerland
This morning's GFS 06Z run also shows precipitation, but only for the Northeastern Alps

For Tuesday, the European weather model already foresees a few runs in a row for snowfall for the entire Northern Alps, with up to 30 centimeters of snow falling in the Swiss Alps and Vorarlberg. While the GFS model did not feel like snowfall for the north side on Tuesday in recent runs through the struggling high-pressure area, this morning’s 06Z run allows snowfall to reach the Alps as well. The zonally oriented high pressure area is temporarily ‘dented’ and a northerly current can, according to the American model, yield a good 10 centimeters above 1000 meters for the areas east of Arlberg, and not like the ECMWF west. This is because the GFS model for the Western Alps foresees a greater high-pressure influence, which dampens the precipitation there.

All in all, the weather models show that it is impossible to get into the details at the moment, but we can therefore hope a little more for a new snow impulse that, also at slightly lower altitudes, can provide the base for the season. It may be the turn of the Southern Alps in the second half of the week, but I will tell you all the details about the possible snowfall on Monday.

wePowder guide can be ordered again!

We can’t travel to the Alps, winter is still coming, but the preparation can already start! Whatever it will look like, the wePowder Guide is available again in the pre-order. For € 45.00 (excl. shipping) this thick book of 400+ pages will be delivered to you mid-December! Thanks for your support!

Arjen
was born with maps of ski areas in the cradle and has visited almost all of them. His great passion is freeriding.

Replies

Expert
scotty9Author27 November 2020 · 16:08

Thanks for the update… the damn high pressure systems need to visit somewhere else for their winter holidays! Let’s hope we get change and it stays

Reply
Never miss a PowderAlert!

Get updates on the latest news, PowderAlerts and more!