Europe Daily Snow
By Luke Stone, Forecaster Posted 1 year ago December 23, 2023
Eastern Alps Still Story, Western Alps Starting to Clear out
Summary
This storm is not done with the eastern Alps yet, but further west conditions will be improving fast. More snow is expected, especially in the Austrian Alps, through Sunday morning while the rest of the range dries out. A weak system to the north will bring rain showers to the Swiss and Austrian Alps on Sunday. The next chance for significant snow will be toward the end of the month.
Short Term Forecast
Yesterday was a wild one in the northern Alps. Intense winds kept a lot of lifts closed, while huge amounts of snow were deposited across the region. On the plus side, the snow will be even deeper when those lifts do open. Hopefully, this happens on Saturday, since some rain showers are likely on Sunday.
Conditions will improve today (Saturday) across the western Alps, but more snow is expected to the east in the Swiss/Austrian Alps. After some lingering morning showers in the western Alps, cloud cover will decrease and some sunshine is possible in the afternoon. Showers will linger throughout the day in the Swiss Alps but with only minor accumulations.
In Austria, especially the eastern half, heavy snow will continue on Saturday, with significant accumulations. Expect 10 - 25 cms throughout the Winds will remain strong, unfortunately, so additional lift closures are likely on Saturday. Snow will transition to snow showers in the evening, with < 10 cms overnight.
The best chance to ski and ride the new powder will be Sunday morning before temps rise too much. Later in the day, a storm system to the north will interact with warm air being pumped in courtesy of a ridge to the southwest. This will lead to some rain showers Sunday night in the Swiss and Austrian Alps. It won't be heavy or have any major impact other than further diminishing the quality of any untracked snow.
Another major storm will be in the books, and we'll have a break in the action to start the next week. From Monday through Wednesday, the upper-level pattern will feature ridging over southern Italy. This will direct storms to the north of the Alps and Pyrenees and keep things dry. Check out the upper-level pattern below for Wednesday the 27th.
Extended Forecast
The latest guidance continues to keep the storm track to the north for the next week. Around Saturday the 30th, a stronger storm is possible for the Alps. Recent model runs bring the heaviest snow to the southwestern French and southern Alps overall, with cold temperatures likely.
Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!
Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow
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