The southern Alps are making quite the late-season comeback, and that will only continue over the next week. After a slow start to the season and a slow first half of the season, the last few weeks have really turned things around. Some of the biggest storms to hit the Alps and Pyrenees this Winter have targeted the southern Alps recently, and that will continue during the next week as well. 

The next seven days will feature several rounds of snow in the Alps and the Pyrenees, courtesy of a strong upper-level low-pressure centered due west of the Alps, in the Atlantic Ocean just north of Spain. This area of low pressure will slowly drift east, and send several waves of snow to the Alps and Pyrenees as it does. Check out the evolution of the upper-level pattern below.

This system will bring snow in three phases, as described below.

Phase 1

The first phase of this storm will impact the Alps and the Pyrenees from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon. Sow will get underway in the Pyrenees Friday morning and the Alps Friday afternoon. The southern Alps in Italy and Pyrenees will be favored, with 15 - 30 cms expected. Temperatures will be cool but not cold, with snow levels generally around 1200 m. Expected snow totals are shown below.

Phase 2

Phase two gets underway in the Pyrenees on Saturday morning and in the Alps on Saturday afternoon. This is the strongest phase of this cycle and will also feature slightly cooler temperatures. The southern Alps in Italy could see an additional 40 - 80 cms during this period. The southern French Alps and far southwestern Italian Alps are expected to receive 30 - 60 cms. The central French Alps, the southern Alps of eastern Italy and Austria, and the Pyrenees should see 20 - 40 cms. Expected snow totals are shown below.

Phase 3

The final phase of this storm will impact the Alps primarily, from Monday evening through Thursday morning. The winds will shift more to the northwest for most of this period, bringing the heaviest totals to the northern side of the eastern Alps in Austria. Expect 15 - 30 cms during this phase. Expected snow totals are shown below.

After this storm cycle winds down on Thursday of next week, the models show a ridge setting up over western Europe, putting a stop to the active weather. The latest long-range data keeps this ridge around for about a week, at which point the signal becomes less clear. As always, I'll keep an eye on it and update you each day.

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow