Return to calm autumn weather

What a beginning of November! Two beautiful snow phases temporarily transformed the Alps into a winterwonderland. In Austria, evaporative cooling ensured that snow even fell in many valleys. Higher up, enough snow fell so that the first tour skiers above 1500 metres are on the move again, as can be seen below in the Axamer Lizum webcam image.

Up to half a meter of snow

A Vb-Wetterlage with a moist (southern) flow first brought snow in the Western Alps (20-30cm) and then also nice snowfall in the Southern and Northern Alps. On a large scale from Central Switzerland to the Tauern, 30 to 50 centimetres of snow fell. Sankt Moritz in the Engadin received even a bit more than 50 centimeters. High alpine regions around the alpine main ridge already have to deal with an old snow problem, see blog of the avalanche warning service of Tirol. The snowfall of the past few days has fallen on top of a weak old snow layer.

And now?

The wintry period will be short-lived, as from now on we will be dealing with more stable high-pressure weather due to the Azores High. Especially at higher altitudes, milder air will be brought in during the weekend. On Sunday, it will be around 0 degrees Celsius at 3000 meters in the Alps.

From Sunday evening, a temporary cooling will follow from the northwest, bringing in clouds. On Monday, it may temporarily snow slightly above 1200 meters. This snowfall will probably not bring more than a centimetre or two in the Northern Alps. In the south-eastern Alps, about 10 centimetres are possible. After Monday, the sunny weather returns and it stays, especially higher up, quite warm.