The Southern Alps are still in the middle of a wintry phase with quite a bit of snowfall. Locally there were already some 20 to 40 centimeters during the last days higher up in the South West Alps. Because it’s already mid-April, the snow cover, especially at the lower altitudes, will soon melt again. From today, the North and Southeastern Alps will also have to deal with a lot of snowfall. The Julian Alps can look forward to more than half a meter of snow, but also in Austria there may be a lot of snow.
Snow for the Northern Alps
^The forecasts on wePowder are powdered by our friends at Ortovox
After a 3-day föhn phase, the Northern Alps are now receiving some snow. The western and northwestern Alps already started today with quite a bit of snow. Last night, some 10 to 25 centimeters of snow already fell in western Switzerland and the French Northern Alps. In the course of the morning, the snowline will drop to many valleys and the precipitation will also move further into Austria. At the same time, the air pressure in the Western Alps under the influence of a high-pressure area in the Bay of Biscay will increase again and it will soon clear up.
According to the Swiss “Mitteleuropa Super HD” model of Kachelmannwetter, precipitation amounts are significant especially in the Eastern Alps. In the southern Alps, the precipitation also shifts to the east. As so often, it’s very likely that the Julian Alps will take the brunt of this snowfall with possibly 80 to 100 centimeters of snow. In the course of tonight, cold air will enter the region, causing the snowline to drop from an initial level of around 1500 meters to below 500 meters. In Austria, 20 to 40 centimeters of snow could fall on a large scale on the north side and near the alpine ridge through tomorrow evening. The snow will fall into the valleys from tonight onwards. With this snowfall, the wind also picks up significantly.
Persistently changeable and chilly
In the following days, the Alps are located between depressions and a high-pressure area. The high pressure area over the North Sea and a low pressure area over Eastern Europe provide cold air from the north to the Alps. This will ensure that the Northern Alps in particular will have to deal with a number of changeable days where sunshine and snow showers will alternate. The snowfall limit will fluctuate between the valleys and around 800 meters depending on the intensity of the snow showers. While the Southern Alps will also have to deal with some showers from Wednesday evening, the Western Alps will remain mostly dry. As the weekend approaches, temperatures will start to rise again, but the Northern Alps in particular will still have to reckon with some snow.
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