Winter returns to the Alps

Looks like it's not spring just yet. The recent warm and sunny weather in Europe is expected to come to an abrupt end this week, as another winter storm is expected to hit France, Switzerland and Italy bringing lots of snow and much colder weather with it.

In France, Argentiere is expected to receive the most snow of the French resorts in the next five days. 60cm of snow is forecast to fall on the upper slopes and the temperatures will probably be fairly mild in the first half of the week with freezing levels around 1500m, so rain could fall on the lower slopes and in the towns. However on Thursday the snow is expected to start falling even harder and the temperature should drop, meaning fresh snow to all levels.

The same is true for Switzerland during the coming week. The resorts are forecast slightly more snow than France, with Verbier expecting 68cm of snow this week, and 50cm of this should fall on Wednesday and Thursday alone! The same heavy snow is forecast in Zermatt with 31cm of snow expected to fall on Wednesday followed by a further 20cm on Thursday. The combined five day total is a whopping 66cm!

And whilst the rest of Europe is catching up with the two weeks of snow that Austria has been enjoying, some Austrian resorts are still staying ahead with more snow of their own to come. Zell am Zille is also expecting lots of snow, with 48cm expected to fall in the next five days. As with France and Switzerland, this could fall as rain on the lower slopes in the first half of the week but significantly colder weather is expected by Thursday. And in Obergurgl, the snow was still falling on Monday and neighbouring Solden also received 5cm of fresh snow. So Austria is still ahead of the game!

More snow on the way

The high pressure which has dominated weather in the Alps for the past few weeks, is set to make way for snowier and milder weather in parts of Switzerland, Italy and Austria early next week.

We've been waiting a little while for another good dump of fresh stuff, and whilst the consistently cold weather has kept the snow in good shape, powder hounds will be pleased to see what the weather has in store over the next few days.

It looks like Switzerland will receive the lion's share of this weather front, with Verbier expecting a whopping 44cm of fresh snow in the next five days, St Moritz 50cm and Zermatt 38cm!

French resorts will also get a look in, with Les Deux Alpes expecting 20cm of snow on Sunday night which should help to boost the already good conditions, and a further 18cm of snow is forecast for Monday.

In Tignes, conditions are still very good thanks to the cold weather and lovely sunshine this week but a top up of 14cm is forecast for Sunday, which should get heavier on Monday night.

Parts of Austria already had some snow this week, with the Piztal area receiving 15cm of snow and powder conditions can already be found across the whole resort. Whilst the weekend is forecast to be largely sunny, clouds will be gathering again by Tuesday when a further 13cm is expected, and Bad Gastein further East should also see 22cm fall by Tuesday.

In Italy, Selva Gardena received 8cm of fresh snow during the middle of the week, and a heavier band of snow is expected to move over the area on Monday night, bringing with it up to 20cm of fresh snow.

Back in the UK, snow fell across most of the Scottish ski resorts this week and the forecast is for temperatures to fall across Scotland over the weekend and more snow to fall from Friday onwards. Glencoe has 25cm of snow forecast and all of the other resorts are expecting at least 10cm.

So it looks like it might be time to put the sunglasses and sunscreen away for the time being, and get those goggles and fat skis back out by the front door.

A cold Christmas and frosty New Year

After a sunny but cold Christmas period in the Alps, France and Switzerland are looking forward to more snow during the coming week, whilst over in North America, the heavy snow that continues to fall in both the east and west is a welcome sight.

In Europe, it's France which is expecting the heaviest of the snow over the New Year period. Isola 2000 in the Southern Alps, is expecting 75cm of snow over the next five days, in addition to the monumental amounts of snow they had two weeks ago. This resulted in the resort being completely cut off due to avalanches across the access roads.
The more northern part of the French Alps is expecting between 20cm and 40cm, which will be greatly appreciated by New Year skiers, as it has been very sunny in France for the last ten days and the pistes are getting increasingly packed down.

Switzerland is also expecting some snow during the middle of the week but isn't expected to be anywhere near as heavy as in France. The snowiest of the Swiss resorts should be Saas Fee and Zermatt where 31cm is expected to land by the end of the week.

Austria is set to be largely sunny for the coming week. Clear skies and cold temperatures should mean the fresh snow over the Christmas period can be perfectly preserved. Temperatures in the higher resorts will drop dramatically, especially in Obergurgl and Obertauern, so be sure to wrap up very warm this New Year!

Over in the US, Snowbird and Alta in Utah have both received nearly 150cm of snow in the last five days, living up to their legendary powder status. In Canada, Whistler should see a whopping 155cm of fresh powder over the next five days, whilst Revelstoke is 85cm and Kicking Horse is forecast a respectable 67cm of snow.