A high-pressure area over Central and Eastern Europe will dominate the Alps starting today. This will result in stable weather with plenty of sunshine. East of Salzburg, it will remain cloudy today with some snow showers, which will increasingly be confined to Lower Austria and the eastern part of Styria (Wienerwald, Mariazell and surroundings) this afternoon. About 10 cm of snow can accumulate there above 700 meters.
Wintry scenes after fresh snow
Yesterday, the Northern Alps experienced snowfall. The cold front moved quickly, and most places only received a cosmetic layer of 5-10 centimeters. In Vorarlberg and Switzerland, slightly more snow fell above 1800 meters, but the amounts were still less than expected. Nevertheless, it resulted in beautiful pictures, some of which we are sharing here.
Weekend dominated by high pressure
Until Sunday, the weather in the Alps will remain dry and stable. In the lower valleys, fog and low clouds can be persistent, but the sun will generally shine in the mountains. On Sunday, some high clouds may move in from the west and north of the Alps. These are the forerunners of disturbances that will bring precipitation in the new week. Temperatures at 1500 meters will range from -1°C in eastern Austria to +5°C in the French and Swiss Alps on Friday and Saturday, rising to +2°C in Carinthia to +7°C in France and Switzerland on Sunday.
Snow in Italy and the Balkans
The map above shows a cold pool, the green area with cold upper air masses, in addition to the high-pressure area. This low moves over the Balkan countries to southern Italy during the weekend, bringing significant snowfall above 1000 meters in the Balkans. In the Dinaric Alps, 20 to 40 centimeters of snow can fall on a large scale. The Italian Apennines may also see some snow, but in smaller amounts.
Snow from Monday, especially in the Western Alps
On Monday, a weak trough will manage to wedge into the high-pressure area, splitting it into one part over the Azores and another over Russia. This will allow disturbances to move further south, mainly affecting the French and Swiss Alps. On Monday, the freezing level will still be around 2000 meters, so rain will fall at lower elevations. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the snow line will gradually drop to about 1000 meters. The flow will become more northwesterly, allowing some snow to reach Austria as well. Until Wednesday, the WePowder model predicts about 20-30 centimeters above 2000 meters in areas sensitive to weststau in France and Switzerland. Elsewhere in the Northern and Western Alps, this would be about 5-15 centimeters.
Long-Term Outlook Remains Unsettled, possible Snow on Friday
Thursday will likely be dry and fairly sunny again. Ahead of a new disturbance, the freezing level will rise to about 2000 meters. Friday seems to bring a repeat, with precipitation from the west starting as rain below 2000 meters and turning to snow above about 1200 meters later in the day. Austria might get more snow than earlier in the week. We will share more details about these new disturbances in the upcoming forecasts.
