Another cold week with a lot of fresh snow

A new wintry week awaits us with fresh snow again. The avalanche conditions are still quite tricky and higher up there is still on a large scale avalanche danger 3. Today a short update on this weather situation, tomorrow more info on the hotspots of this snowfall. Powder alert #1 is in the making.

First front this night

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

Today, during the day, the northern side of the Alps is still dealing with some snow showers. In the evening, a new front will approach from the northwest. From the French Northern Alps to Austria, this front will bring 5 to 10 centimetres. Especially in the stau areas of Central Switzerland and Vorarlberg, 20 centimetres are possible. Due to the present cold, it will snow down to the lowest valleys.

Storm Barra

Storm Barra, a mighty depression over the Atlantic, will not only bring stormy weather to the British Isles. The Western Alps can expect a lot of snow in the coming days. Models predict 30 to 50 centimetres of fresh snow until Wednesday. Because the Alps are still in the warm sector at first (föhn in the Northern Alps before the front reaches the Alps), the snow line will initially be around 1500 metres. Along with the incoming precipitation, it will also cool down on Wednesday, which will eventually bring the snowline down to the lower valleys again.

Snow for the southern Alps

Simultaneously with the snowfall in the Western Alps, a low pressure core over the Gulf of Genoa will develop further and bring snow to the Southern Alps. Also here, 30 to 50 centimetres of snow will be possible on a large scale in the coming days. Due to the westerly flow, Austria (with the exception of Vorarlberg) will not be affected initially. On Wednesday, föhn conditions will ensure milder and dry conditions here. Only in the evening the low pressure core will move further north over the Alps and the snow will also reach the northern side of Austria.

Uncertainty

From Thursday onwards, the model calculations still vary somewhat. Again, a precipitation front approaches from the west, but it is possible that it won’t fully reach the Alps. For the southern Alps, there might be snow again on Friday, but also this forecast is still accompanied by some uncertainty. So hopefully tomorrow more clarity in a new update!