Europe Daily Snow
By Luke Stone, Forecaster Posted 1 month ago March 17, 2025
More Chances for Snow in the Pyrenees and Southern Alps
Summary
The Alps and Pyrenees will have a few more shots at snow this week before a ridge moves in from the northwest on Wednesday. Wednesday through Friday should be dry in the Alps, with the next storm moving in around Friday night. A shorter break is expected in the Pyrenees as the storm arrives there a bit earlier on Friday. The weekday action looks minor, but bigger storms are possible next weekend.
Short Term Forecast
After an impressive week of persistent snow in the southern Alps, where 1 - 1.5 m fell in several areas in France, Switzerland, and Italy, things will quiet down somewhat during the work week. A similar pattern is expected to reemerge this weekend and could bring another extended period of snow favoring the southern Alps.
Between Monday and Friday, the upper-level low that has been parked over Spain will finally weaken and move out of the region. This will bring some light snow to the Pyrenees and the Alps, but generally 5 - 15 cm is expected with some spots in the western Italian Alps seeing up to 20 cm.
Over the last week, an area of low pressure was sitting in southwestern Europe over Spain. At times, this upper-level low was reinforced by additional lows arriving from the west and northeast. Further, small waves were being ejected from this parent low toward the Alps, adding a bit more dynamics at times as the low over Spain was being replenished.
Now, let's take a look at the forecast for the upper-level pattern starting around Friday night.
The models show a similar pattern developing with persistent low-pressure in southwestern Europe for seven days starting this Friday. Similar to the past seven days, smaller waves are coming off the parent low and moving across the Alps. This pattern results in primarily southerly flow for the Alps, at times south-southwest or south-southeast. Another long-duration snow event for the southern Alps is becoming more likely. At the moment, temperatures look a bit warmer than the prior week, especially toward the end when we saw snow levels drop below 1000 m in parts of the French Alps.
It's a bit too early to discuss specifics regarding timing and totals, but the southern Alps could easily see another .5 - 1 m of snow. The Pyrenees will also get some snow, but the position of the low is not ideal.
Extended Forecast
In the long-range, the models generally agree that this pattern will continue beyond the end of NEXT week, through the end of the month, and into early April. It could be an impressive stretch of snowy weather in the southern Alps.
My next post will be on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!
Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow
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