Big totals are already being reported from this morning, with you to 50 cms in Graubunden, Switzerland. Several more days of snow are expected as this storm churns south of the Alps. The heaviest snow will begin to shift farther west tomorrow and focus on the eastern aspects of the western Alps, as well as the southernmost mountains near the Mediterranean. Many details remain unclear, but another round of accumulating snow is likely toward the end of the week. 

This storm came in strong and with cool temperatures initially, snow totals piled up fast. In the southern Swiss, southern Austrian, and eastern Italian Alps, around 30 - 50 cms have fallen so far. Temperatures have started to warm up and that trend will continue through the rest of the storm. Snow will become more dense, and the avalanche danger will increase. 

Heavy snow will persist in certain spots of the Alps through Thursday, with lighter snow elsewhere. The southern Alps continue to be favored, particularly the eastern/southern/northern aspects in the western side of Italy.

We’re still looking at an additional .5 - 1 m of snow for this region, and the western Pyrenees as well. Winds consistently from the southeast to northeast will produce intense orographic snowfall in this region of the Alps, as you can see from the latest total additional snowfall forecast. 

Today, Tuesday, Wednesday, and even Thursday will all be powder days. It will be deepest in the eastern side of the southern Italian Alps on Tuesday, with the focus back on the western side for Wednesday and Thursday. The higher elevation terrain and resorts will ski and ride best. Below is the latest snow forecast from the European model through Thursday.

We’ll have maybe a short break later Thursday through Friday morning. The next storm should arrive with light snow around Friday evening. The models do not agree on the storm track and snow totals, but the western Alps are favored, with some snow in the southern Alps as well. This storm does not look as big as the last few, with an early estimate of totals in the 15 - 30 cm range.

In the long range, additional opportunities for snow will be possible. There isn’t an obvious signal for a strong storm, but overall the storm track will stay active over Western Europe. With no signs of a ridge setting up, there is hope that this active and snowy pattern will continue. 

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow