Winter Bites Back in the Alps

Up to 50cm of snow has fallen on the highest peaks of Austria, thanks to a cold front that’s briefly plunged the Alps back into winter.

The snow has also fallen in the France and western Switzerland. There was 5cm yesterday in Val Thorens, up to 15cm on the Grands Montets in Chamonix, 5cm in Verbier and 15cm in Cervinia, with more due to fall this afternoon.

But it’s the east that’s had the lion’s share of the new snow (as was the case ten days ago). Many resorts in Austria have now closed for the season, but on the glaciers, and in high-altitude resorts such as Obergurgl, there’s going to be some very sweet skiing to be had when the skies clear.

Here’s how it was looking in Obergurgl earlier today (the resort closes on Sunday).

Photo: obergurgl.com

And this was the scene earlier today in the Stubai valley, beneath the Stubai glacier (where you’ll be able to ski till the end of May).

Photo: Stubai Glacier/Facebook

Meanwhile, this was the scene this morning in Val d’Isere in France, courtesy of John Yates-Smith of YSE (the resort will close on May 1). Since the picture was taken, it’s started snowing again in the resort.

Photo: yseski.co.uk

And this was the Grands Montets near Chamonix, which also closes on May 1.

Photo: compagniedumontblanc.co.uk

According to our Snow Forecast, another wave of snow will cross the northern Alps this evening and tonight, and will clear out of Austria tomorrow afternoon. Again, it looks as though the eastern Alps will get the lion’s share. However, once the skies clear, temperatures will rebound quickly. On Wednesday, the daytime freezing point will be up to 3600m in France, and on Thursday it will hit 3500m in Austria. So if you want to get a taste of cold, wintry snow, you’ll have to be out on your skis tomorrow or Wednesday.

Looking further ahead, the European Centre for Mid-Range Weather Forecasts is predicting another cold snap at the beginning of next week, which may bite for several days. It’s too soon to be sure of this: but the ECMWF’s maps aren’t the only ones predicting this outcome.

Meanwhile, in North America…

As in Europe, the ski season is winding down in North America. But that doesn’t mean it has to stop snowing.

Photo: Breckenridge/Facebook

This was Breckenridge, Colorado, on Saturday. In all, the resort clocked up 56cm of snow this weekend.

There’s likely to be more snow over the state over the next couple of days, before the weather warms up in the middle of the week. Then, more snow is expected at the weekend…

I’ll be back with a full snow report on Thursday.