PA#5: Storm and lots of snow for the Northern Alps

PA#5: Storm and lots of snow for the Northern Alps
PA5 is for the Northern Alps
PA5 is for the Northern Alps

It’s time for Powder Alert number 5! In the coming days, a lot of snow is going to fall again. Again, large parts of Austria will get a lot of snow, but also the Northwest Alps will benefit more than during PA#4. Especially after the weekend, a big Nord(west)stau can bring a lot of snow. Because of the very strong northwestern flow, the wind will play a big role (again)!

In this weather report:

  • Some fresh snow today
  • Sunny interlude
  • Second cold front on Sunday
  • Snowbomb after the weekend
  • Nordstau until Wednesday
  • Stormy winds!

Some fresh snow today

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

With a cold front coming from the north, Austria will get some snow already today. As you can see above in the animation of the satellite images the north-westerly flow will create some stau. In the western and southern Alps the day will be sunny, as expected. Most of the snow has already fallen and from the west it clears up quickly due to increasing air pressure. As I said on Wednesday, there will be some 10 to 20 centimetres of snow in the east of Tyrol. The wind has also picked up considerably with the north-westerly flow, so many areas higher up already had to close the lifts. This will happen regularly in the coming days.

Sunny interlude

Before a new cold front arrives in the night from Saturday to Sunday, the Alps will temporarily be in a warmer sector in between the warm and cold front on Saturday. As a result, it will be somewhat milder and due to the temporarily increased high-pressure influence sunny again for a large part of the Alps, especially in the afternoon. In the east of Austria, an offshoot of the warm front will keep it mostly cloudy and the north-westerly flow will bring some snowfall above 800 to 1000 metres. The wind is particularly strong in the Eastern Alps.

Second cold front Saturday night (wetter3.de, DWD)
Second cold front Saturday night (wetter3.de, DWD)

Second cold front on Sunday

In the night to Sunday the second cold front will follow. It won’t give a lot of snow, but the winds will pick up considerably higher up. Particularly in the areas east of Tyrol, wind gusts of 120 kilometres per hour seem quite possible, resulting in lift closures. As the cold front passes, the Nordstau areas from Vorarlberg to eastern Austria will see up to 10 centimetres of snow above 800 to 1000 metres. Especially in the eastern areas, where the wind is stormy, the snowline will temporarily be a bit higher. In the afternoon, the snowfall will decrease quickly and the whole northern side of the Alps will be able to clear up a bit. The strong snowfall will take place on Monday, when a low-pressure area over the North Sea will follow a south-easterly course over Germany and will bring a lot of moisture to the Northern Alps.

The entire southern Alps, from France to the Dolomites and Carinthia, will have to deal with a strong Nordföhn today and from Sunday onwards, and thus also with a hefty storm higher up. Especially on Sunday, this föhn in the Southern Alps is quite mild because the temperatures in the source area on the north side are also higher due to the warm front.

Trajectory of the low-pressure area that will bring a lot of snow (wxcharts.com)
Lots of snow on Monday (wetter3.de, DWD)

Snowbomb after the weekend

The interesting developments for after the weekend start with the deepening of the low pressure area on the left of the map. The low-pressure core follows the path of the jet stream above it and curves to the south-east near Scotland and continues its path via the North Sea to Germany. This position means that the western regions of the Northern Alps can finally start to see snow again, and not just Austria. For the French Alps, however, we still have to be careful with the exact snow amounts. In the northern areas it will snow here, but it is still possible that the high pressure area west of the Alps creeps too far to the east pretty soon after, which means the western Alps will have to settle for a lot less snow. The ECMWF calculates on Monday for example only 5 to 10 centimetres for these regions. Further east, the amounts will increase quickly with 30 to 50 centimetres of snow from Central Switzerland to Austria until Tuesday afternoon.

New frontal system on Tuesday (wetter3.de, DWD)
New frontal system on Tuesday (wetter3.de, DWD)

Nordstau until Wednesday

Due to the persistent north-westerly flow it will keep on snowing, especially in the Nordstau areas. In the course of Tuesday night the next low pressure area will approach, again bringing in moist air, which will intensify the snowfall once more. Again, 30 to 50 centimetres of snow could fall (locally even more!) from Central Switzerland to Austria. Also in the French Northern Alps this snowfall could bring some snow from Tuesday night on, but whether it’s really going to be the 20 to 40 centimetres that are now on the weather charts is still a bit uncertain.

From Wednesday on high pressure in the west will dampen the snowfall, but a persistent northern flow will still provide snow in Austria. The exact timing of how long and how west this snowfall will persist is still somewhat uncertain. Austria will probably have to deal with this Nordstau until Wednesday night. The moist flow will also bring snow to the Southern Alps in the areas close to the Alpine main ridge. Further south, the Nordföhn dominates and it clears up quickly.

Our weather model is also calculating huge amounts of snow up to and including Thursday
Our weather model is also calculating huge amounts of snow up to and including Thursday

Stormy winds

As I said, the stormy wind is becoming a point of concern again. During the previous snowfall, some nasty avalanches came down because wind-blown snow was a big problem and this will also be the case now. On Sunday, the wind will be blowing very hard, especially in Salzburgerland and at the eastern edge of the Alps, with gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour, but the wind will also be picking up considerably elsewhere.

After the weekend we will still have to deal with strong winds. On Monday, the winds will increase significantly from the northwest as the snowfall continues. Initially, the wind will have a more zonal direction, which means that the areas at the northern edge of the Alps will have to deal with strong gusts and heavy snow drifts, but over the course of Monday the powerful north-westerly flow will create stormy conditions throughout the Northern Alps. Expect many higher elevation lifts to close. While the flow around the Alps on the west and east side will remain strong on Tuesday, the wind will decrease a little bit in the central part of the Northern Alps, but with the approach of the new front the entire Northern Alps will have to deal with stormy winds again on Tuesday evening, which will dominate the weather on Wednesday as well. The large amounts of snow in combination with the stormy wind will create very critical conditions and a very high avalanche risk! Please be careful and keep a close eye on the avalanche reports!

An update will follow over the weekend with more information on snow hotspots, stormy winds and developments on Wednesday, among other things.

Henri
knows everything about new ski areas, lifts and projects.

Replies

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JAndersBAuthor28 January 2022 · 16:45

Looking like a southerly flow and snow in Lombardia for next weekend. Any comment on the likelyhood for this. You have it in the models also. Worth driving north on sunday and back again on next saturday?

Tourist
pkaelliAuthor28 January 2022 · 16:50

Today was great in Dorfgastein. All day a LOT of snow. Windy at the top but between the trees excellent snow, about 30cm soft I would estimate.

Visibility close to zero in open areas and too high but as usually, very good between/close to the trees

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FlucAuthor28 January 2022 · 19:02

🥳 We will stay from Thursday - Sunday at Elm and Davos. Looks like a jackpot 🤓

*Ride hard, stay easy*
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FlucAuthor28 January 2022 · 19:03

🥳 We will stay from Thursday - Sunday at Elm and Davos, so looks like a jackpot🤞Thanks for your forecast!

*Ride hard, stay easy*
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powderhoundmoritzAuthor28 January 2022 · 22:50

Zauchensee was epic today… Haven’t expected a good day but had bottomless pow in the trees on the lee side, very surprising for us… There was basically a cloud hanging in the valley that brought intense snow the whole day, tomorrow will be good again
https://youtube.com/shorts/7wq2oUfvJ3g?feature=share

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hansmalAuthor28 January 2022 · 22:50

Thanks for your great reports! We’re 4 guys picking up our rental car at Munich airport tomorrow, last day skiing will be Thursday Feb 3rd. Super excited!! :D Seems like lots of good choices in Austria, any recommendation? Could do 1 or 2 locations.

Tourist
EminiusAuthor29 January 2022 · 08:32
Tourist
EminiusAuthor29 January 2022 · 09:55

Thanks for your great reports! We’re 4 guys picking up our rental car at Munich airport tomorrow, last day skiing will be Thursday Feb 3rd. Super excited!! :D Seems like lots of good choices in Austria, any recommendation? Could do 1 or 2 locations.

hansmal op 28 Jan 2022 22:50

From Munich closest place with lots of snow and good ski is https://www.lechzuers.com/en/winter/lifts-and-ski-slopes https://cdn.wepowder.com/site/forum/15/6d6bafdfdb55447d471a9cd69f9ab7d7_25018.jpg?width=800

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AdamSteklAuthor29 January 2022 · 13:39

Thanks for your great reports! We’re 4 guys picking up our rental car at Munich airport tomorrow, last day skiing will be Thursday Feb 3rd. Super excited!! :D Seems like lots of good choices in Austria, any recommendation? Could do 1 or 2 locations.

hansmal op 28 Jan 2022 22:50


I would stay in trees because of the avalanche danger. Therefore I recommend Krippenstein, Zacuhensee, Tauplitz, Hinterstoder. Many larch trees in these areas! Have fun.

Adam
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hansmalAuthor30 January 2022 · 10:08

Thanks for the tips! We’re in the Saalbach/Fieberbrunn area, and all top lifts (2000m) are closed today (Sunday). So yes, need to find places that can tolerate the high winds during Mon/Tues/Wednesday, and allow skiing in snowy weather, i.e. trees. And it also needs an adequate base of snow, so that we can ski in the lower areas of the mountain if the wind is too strong. Any ideas?

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