Nordstau for Austria!

Finally, the time has come and the Northern Alps seem to be getting a decent Nordstau. Monday very likely so time for PA#6. In a few phases, it is going to snow quite a bit next week. Not that much at first, but serious amounts will follow later in the week. In the eastern Nordstau areas, a metre of snow could possibly fall. A short update today because I am on the road and, as expected, the internet connection is quite bad. Monday hopefully with better internet a slightly more extensive PA#6.

Monday night settling snowfall

Monday will remain mostly sunny, but the first snowfall will reach the northern Alps in the evening. Overall, it remains just a first taste and the amounts are a bit moderate compared to last week’s model calculations. This is because the snowfall is accompanied by high pressure building from the west, something I warned about in my previous weather report, which quickly reduces the snowfall here. The areas east of Tyrol will get around 10 to 25 centimetres. Further west, therefore, already less.

Later in the week significantly more snow

Later next week, the real deal will hopefully follow. In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, new snowfall will follow in the Northern Alps, which will also bring more snow to the west. Until Friday morning, 30 to 50 centimetres could fall on a large scale in Austria. Locally also certainly more in the stau areas. Both Monday night and with this snowfall, winds will pick up higher up.

On the Swiss side, again increasing pressure could cause less snowfall. The ECMWF and GFS still differ greatly on this. The American model even goes for another round of snow from Friday night, but again the differences in amounts are too big to say anything meaningful about it now.

Where to go?

In short: Austria. The centre of gravity is mainly on the Austrian side, so for certainty you really need to be here next week. Possibly western Switzerland could also become an option, but there is still an uncertainty factor here. Particularly in the areas around Salzburgerland - Upper Austria - Styria can expect serious accumulations. Think among others of ski areas like Hochkönig, Krippenstein, Tauplitz, Loser - Altaussee. Also check the wePowder Guide for more locations.

Read also:

• What is an ensemble forecast?
• What are low- and high pressure areas?
• What is a northstau/nordstau?
• What is a southstau/südstau?
• What is föhn?
• What is a retour d’Est?
• What is the jet stream?