The first Nordstau treated the northern Alps in Switzerland and Austria well, where 20 to 50 + cm fell through Sunday evening before Nortstau number two arrived. The next round of heavy snow is underway and will hammer the central and eastern Austrian Alps through Tuesday. 

This storm will dump another 25 - 50 cm across most of the central and eastern Austrian Alps, with some areas seeing 35 - 70 cm during this time. The western Austrian Alps should see 10 - 20 cm, with totals dropping off across the border into Switzerland. The latest snow forecast from the high-resolution WRF model is shown below.

Winds will be strong through Monday but should ease up on Monday night.

After this upper-level low crosses the eastern Alps, it will stall and then become our Retour d'est, moving east to west across the region. There is quite the model discrepancy on the snow totals for this storm, with a cluster in the 10 to 25 cm range and a cluster in the 35 to 70 cm range. This can be visualized well in OpenSnow's new forecast range graphs, which show individual forecasts from global and regional high-resolution weather models.

Below is the forecast range graph for Crissolo in Italy, which highlights these two clusters well.

Hopefully, the models will come into better agreement in the next one to two days. Overall, this is a cold storm, with some of the cold air from the Nordstau hanging on and tracking across the Alps. The snow forecast map above shows the expected snow totals, but this model is definitely more in line with the higher-end models in the forecast range graph. 

Another strong low-pressure system will drop down from the north on Saturday. The latest model guidance has this storm a bit too far east for another big snowfall, but the central and eastern Alps could see some light snow. Once again, a small westward shift would bring heavier snow and more significant accumulations. With a ridge over northwestern Europe, we won't see any storms coming from that area during this time. 

We may see another storm grazing the Alps later in the following week, too, but this one looks too far east as well. The ensembles show a westward shift in the ridge over northwest Europe and thus the trough that's been setting up east of the Alps. We could see a more favorable pattern for all of the northern Alps if this comes to pass.

My next post will be on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

Alps Regions:

NEW: Forecast Range Graphs

You can now view individual forecasts from global and regional high-resolution weather models in OpenSnow. This includes forecasts from the GFS, ECMWF, HRRR, and ICON models, as well as the OpenSnow blend.

The graphs give you a behind-the-scenes look at the forecast and make it easier to see if the forecast models are in tight agreement or if there is a wide range of potential outcomes over the next 10 days.

Note: This is currently only available in the OpenSnow iOS app and website (OpenSnow.com). Android will be available soon.

Getting Started

1. Go to any location screen.
2. Scroll down under "Weather" or "Snow Summary".
3. Tap "View Interactive Chart" in the app.
4. Adjust the model, timeframe, or data view.

Why is the Forecast Range helpful?

Understand if there is high or low confidence in the forecast. If all models show a similar forecast, there is higher confidence in the forecast, and vice versa.

Dig into the details. If you have experience looking at weather model data and trust certain models or higher-resolution models, you'll be able to isolate your favorite data.

View → Forecast Range Graphs