Snow is back in full swing in the Alps! During the night, a cold front reached the Alps. Locally, some 10 to 20 centimetres could already fall higher up. During the evening, the precipitation in the north-western Alps will intensify and much more snow will follow for the higher regions! I expect up to half a meter of snow in many places here.
Half a meter of snow higher up
As you can see from the webcam images, the cold front has already left behind some snow above 1500 metres. Today during the day it clears behind the cold front fairly quickly, but the northern and western Alps should still expect some showers throughout the day. Tonight, the wind will turn increasingly to the west and a new precipitation area on the border between warm and cold air masses will reach the Alps.
The further south, the higher the snowline will be on Wednesday. In the north-western Alps, the snowline rises to 2200 - 2500 metres during the day on Wednesday. So the wintry pictures from below the tree line today are really only temporary. Higher up, with the moist western flow, we can expect a lot of snow. I expect 30 to 60 centimetres in most places, with very possibly local peaks of up to 80 centimetres of snow (e.g. around Mont Blanc). Everything east of the Arlberg will get considerably less due to the western flow.
Thursday also some for the southern Alps
As the upper air flow turns a bit more to the southwest on Thursday, some precipitation may also fall in the southern Alps. Here, however, the snowline remains well above 2000 metres and, with the exception of the Julian Alps, we don’t need to expect large precipitation amounts.
Back to more stable weather
On Friday, we should still expect some showers scattered across the Alps. The snowline will fluctuate around or just below 2000 metres in the northwest, a bit higher in the rest of the Alps. Another 5 to maximum 20 centimetres of snow could fall. After Friday, calm largely returns to the Alps. Saturday remains dry, but on Sunday a front passage could bring some precipitation in the Northern Alps. Next week, it looks like we will face some more stable autumn weather.