Some of the pictures out of the French and Italian Alps are just nuts. Huge totals of .5 - 1+ m have been reported across the region, setting up the French Alps for a great start to the season. Below are a few of the deepest shots I've seen so far.

The storm that just demolished the French Alps is now moving east, which will shift the snowfall to the Austrian helps through Wednesday morning. Expect 5 - 15 cms during this time.

Starting Thursday, we have another Weststau/Nordweststau setting up, with a prolonged period of west/northwest winds and favorable dynamics. This will once again favor the French and Swiss Alps. While this isn't as strong of a storm as the previous one, it will stick around for several days and then get rejuvenated by another upper level low. This will result in moderate to heavy snow for an extended period of time.

Unfortunately, there is a surge of warm air expected toward the latter part of the storm, as the jet stream shifts from the northwest to the southwest. This will transport warm Atlantic subtropical air into central Europe instead of colder air from the northwest.

Let's take a quick look at the upper level pattern that will be responsible for this next round of snow. 

As you can see, we'll have a period of winds out of the west initially, favoring the regions below.

Then as the storm moves east, we'll see a northwesterly flow for an extended period of time, favoring these areas.

As the storm continues to move east, the northwest winds will favor these areas. 

The part of this storm with the potential for the heaviest snow is likely Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon, thanks to an atmospheric river stretching across the ENTIRE Atlantic Ocean. Let's take a look at the precipitable water forecast for next week.

The upper level pattern, with a massive and strong low positioned over the center of the North Atlantic, allows the moisture transport from the coast of Florida all the way to the Alps.

 

This subtropical moisture tap will allow for heavier precipitation while the atmospheric river is directed over the French Alps. It is not surprise then, that during this long-duration storm, the wettest twenty-four hour period in the Alps will be while the atmospheric river is remains in this position. 

Most of this storm will feature below average temperatures as well, with snow levels between 1000 - 1300 m. However, warmer air will arrive with the atmospheric river and snow levels will climb as high as 1900m towards the tail end of the storm. Check out the temperature anomaly at 1500m for the storm below.

This change in temperature regimes is primarily due to the jet stream, which shifts from the northwest to the southwest, as shown below.

And finally, let's look at the total snow forecast from the European model.

There is a lot going on with this storm, but by the middle of next week we will add to the already impressive November totals. With several days of snow at colder temperatures, followed by high water content snow early next week, avalanche danger will be high. If you're going out in the backcountry to get some preseason turns, make sure to check the local avalanche conditions.

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow! Check out this short clip from this past weekend in Aspen, where nearly 3 feet of snow fell in twenty-four hours. Follow me @lstone84 on Instagram to track and chase storms all winter long!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow