The remnants of the temporary Nordstau are still in progress, but over the course of the day this PA#4 snowfall will weaken more and more. All in all, a nice layer fell, but the possible extra ‘push’ for Austria today that I was talking about on Wednesday did not really come. Now the sun returns for a few days. Only in the second half of next week do we seem to dive back into a more changeable and stormy phase.
Nice layer of fresh snow
The north-westerly flow has left a nice layer of snow in the Northern Alps. Together with the snow that fell earlier, accumulations were substantial in parts of Switzerland, including the Glarus Alps, as you can see above (and in the webcam image from Elm below). Less snow fell in the inneralpine regions. During the last 24 hours it also snowed in the Austrian Alps with some good accumulations. As expected, especially in the northern stau areas like Vorarlberg, Karwendel, and also further east around Salzburgerland. Here, some more snow falls in the coming hours, but the snowfall is starting to ease off from the west.
Dry phase
A strong high-pressure area over central Europe moves the Alps into calmer waters. While it is still snowing a bit in Austria, it has already cleared widely in the Western Alps. The high-pressure area continues to expand further eastwards, clearing up in the rest of the Alps as well. The weekend will then be sunny. From the west, it will get considerably milder at the same time, but the air will be dry.
End of next week more turbulent
At the beginning of next week, it initially remains dry, but the high-pressure influence does gradually diminish. Until then, it will remain mild, with a freezing level of around 3,000 metres. From Wednesday onwards, we can expect snow again. At first with a weak front, delivering not that much for the Northern Alps yet, but towards the end of the week a strong north-westerly flow seems possible with more snow and especially more wind. A couple of turbulent days before Christmas thus seems possible. In the ensemble above, it is easy to see that it also cools down in the process, but: milder air remains nearby. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
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thanks henri