Europe Daily Snow
By Luke Stone, Forecaster Posted 1 year ago December 31, 2023
Weakening Trend of Storm #2 Continues
Summary
Two storms remain on track for this week, with a few changes to the forecast. The southern Alps look to get in on the action with storm #1, and storm #2 continues to trend weaker. An active pattern continues for the Alps and more storms are possible later next week.
Short Term Forecast
The general forecast for these two storms remains on track, with a smaller storm on Sunday followed by a larger storm Tuesday through Wednesday. Most of the details from the previous two forecasts still apply, and you can check those here and here.
The main changes from the previous forecast are just some adjustments to the snow totals. For storm #1, the upper-level low is digging a bit farther south, resulting in a period of southwest winds. This will allow the southern Alps to get in on the action, especially in northern Italy and part of central Austria. Check out the snow map below for storm #1, with the southern Alps highlighted thanks to the period of southwesterly flow.
The snow forecast for the rest of the Alps during this storm remains the same.
For the second storm slated for the early part of this week, the track has trended farther north over the last few days, resulting in a less substantial event for the Alps. This northerly shift brings less dynamics, less moisture, and an overall shorter period of favorable winds for the northern Alps. Thus, the duration and intensity of the storm have decreased. Snow levels may be a bit lower as well. The latest snow forecast from the European model is below.
The deepest overnight snowfall will be from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. With snow continuing on Wednesday, visibility will be tough, and upper mountain operations will be limited. With the shorter duration storm, however, chances for terrain openings on Thursday will be increased.
Ok, that's all I have for updates. Enjoy the snow these next several days.
Extended Forecast
The models have been all over the place as far as what the next storm will look like later in the week. Some of the models show a storm taking a more southerly route, bringing heavy snow to the southwestern French Alps, Italian Alps, and southern Austrian Alps. Given the models' recent history of showing this southerly storm track only to ultimately trend north over time, I am still not buying it. We need at least another day or two to get a better idea of the next storm.
Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!
Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow
About Our Forecaster
