The active pattern begins overnight with the first of two major winter storms. The first will begin tonight and continue through Tuesday the 10th. There won't be much of a break before the snow from the next storm starts falling on the 11th. This storm could linger through Friday the 13th, with even less of a break before storm #3 gets cranking. 

Forecast for Saturday 1/7 - Tuesday 1/10

There aren't a whole lot of charges to the previous forecast regarding this storm. The main difference is that the onset of the snow is a bit later. Amounts will be a bit less with the first storm, but looking deeper with the second. Light snow should start after midnight with heavier snow starting mid-morning on Sunday. Moderate to heavy snow continues through Monday night, though there will be some periods of lighter snow during that time. Light snow may linger through Tuesday morning, with spotty showers the rest of the day.

Temperatures start a bit on the warm side, but a strong cold front arrives overnight Sunday dropping snow levels below 900m, resulting in good quality snow. Winds won't be too much of an issue either.

The deepest totals will be in the the French and Swiss Alps, along the Italy border, where 40-70 cms are expected, with 80+ cms possible at upper elevations. Elsewhere, expect 20-40 cms, with lesser amounts as you move into the eastern Alps. 

Forecast for Wednesday 1/11 - Friday 1/13

Without much of a break, storm #2 arrives Wednesday afternoon, with snow quickly becoming heavy in the western Alps. Periods of snow continue through Friday afternoon. While this storm #2 has more moisture, snow levels will be higher to start, up to 1500m in the western Alps. Low elevation accumulations won't be as significant as stop #1, but a cold front will arrive as precipitation gets going, lowering now levels to around 1200m. There will be some impressive high elevation accumulations, as seen in the European model snow forecast below.

The deepest totals should be at higher elevations along the France/Switzerland/Italo border and in western Austria. This storm should deliver more widespread uniform snow totals across the entire Alps. 50-80 cms expected at those locations, and another 30-50 cms across most of the rest of the Alps. 

Outlook for Saturday 1/14 - Tuesday 1/17

It looks like storm #3 will arrive without much of a break in the action. It's possible there isn't really a break at all, with light snow in the afternoon becoming heavier in the evening as the next storm approaches. Since this is still one week away, expect these details to change a bit. As of now, this looks like another strong storm with the potential to bring 40-80 cms of additional snow.

I will have more details on this third storm on the next post.

Thanks for reading the forecast. Follow me @lstone84 on Instagram to track and chase storms all Winter long!