Over 40 cms fell overnight in parts of Austria, and we're just getting started. Heavy snow will continue in the eastern Alps on Friday, Friday night, and Saturday, before finally slowing down Saturday night.

In general across the northern Alps in Austria, expect another 20 - 40 cms throughout the day, as strong winds continue and temperatures rise a bit. The heavy snow doesn't stop Friday night either, with 15 - 30 cms expected overnight. The same goes for Saturday, as heavy snow throughout the day will produce another 15 - 30 cms. Winds will remain very strong during this time and snow levels will continue to slowly climb. The snow will finally let up a bit Saturday night, and only 2 - 5 cms are expected by morning. 

The strong winds will cause delays and closures on both Friday and Saturday. The avalanche danger will be increasing throughout this event as well. The best skiing and riding will be on mid and low-elevation slopes with decent pitch. Snow showers will linger on Sunday as temperatures begin to rapidly increase. Get out early to get the best snow quality.

Eastern Switzerland will continue to get deep the next two days as well. The northern side of the Alps in this region should see 20 - 40 cms today (Friday) and another 10 - 20 cms Friday night. Snow showers will continue on Saturday as well with a few more cms possible. Strong winds are expected in this region as well, and temperatures will slowly rise throughout the event. Again, stick to mid and lower-elevation terrain with decent pitch.

Farther west, in central/western Switzerland and northern France, snow totals won't be quite as impressive. This storm will still bring heavy snowfall to this region, and great skiing and riding are still in the cards. In addition to what has already fallen, expect another 10 - 25 cms in regions such as the Haute-Savoie and Savoie in France, and Wallis and Vaud in Switzerland. The heaviest snow will fall during the day today (Friday), before tapering to showers overnight. 

This area won't escape the strong winds either, so there will likely be issues with upper mountain lifts on Friday. All that snow will be waiting for you on Saturday though, so take advantage of it before temperatures climb on Sunday. 

Check out the snow forecast for the rest of today and tomorrow across the Alps.

As mentioned, some warm air will quickly overspread the Alps starting on Sunday. At the same time, a system to the north may be just close enough to, believe it or not, bring some rain showers to the northern Alps in Switzerland and Austria. While not a base-busting event, it will likely make any untracked recently fallen snow ski and ride much differently after the rain.

Once those showers wrap up Monday morning, we should dry out for the early part of next week, most likely through Wednesday.

 

The next chance for snow will be later in the week. The models have an upper-level low approaching the Alps/Pyrenees on Thursday. There could be an initial moderate wave of snow followed by a stronger and more prolonged system the last few days of the month. The latest guidance takes this storm pretty far south, which would bring solid accumulations to the western Alps as it drops down but would then favor the southern side of the Alps as southerly flow prevails. This is a long way out though, so expect some of these details to change. 

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

 

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