In the southern Alps in western Italy, along the French and Swiss borders, the snow has been measured in meters over the last few weeks. This past weekend followed suit, as a wide area saw .5 to as much as 2 meters of snow. This region has caught up in a hurry after a slow first half or two-thirds of the season. 

Yet another Retour d’est storm, with ample moisture and persistent winds out of the east, slammed the southern Alps over the last few days. We’ve been locked into this storm track for several weeks now, and the southern Alps are thankful for it. 

As this latest Retour d’est wraps up, a fast-moving storm tracking a bit farther north will cross the Alps from Monday through Wednesday. This will bring a refresh of about 10 - 25 cm over a two-day period. 

A ridge will then build in over Spain that will direct storms even farther north. The question remains just how far north the storm track will get. This will determine whether the northern Alps will see additional rounds of showers later in the week and over the weekend, or if some periods of moderate to heavy snow will be possible. 

At least for the first storm tracking farther north, it looks like just a glancing blow with some snow showers late next week. The next storm over the weekend may be a bit farther south. 

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow