Apologies to those who are hoping for a week of flawless sunshine in the Alps over half-term. There’s a busy week of weather ahead, which will bring snow to most parts of the region, including the Italian Alps.
That’s not to say families are going to spend the entire week engulfed by blizzards. According to the current seven-day forecast Saturday and Sunday should be clear, and by Thursday in Italy the sun will be out again. There are going to interludes between snow showers too.
But the general pattern is likely to be changeable, with several snowy periods during the week. The most significant of these will be on Monday and Tuesday when – if all goes according to plan – a weather front will move westwards across the region, favouring the southern half of the region.
This is Meteoblue’s 24 hour snow forecast until 1am on February 15.
Image: Meteoblue.com
And this is Meteoblue’s 24-hour snow forecast until 1am on February 16.
Image: Meteoblue.com
This is good news for the Italian resorts. Most are equipped with excellent snow-making systems, and cover on-piste is good. But Mother Nature hasn’t added much natural snowfall since early January, and away from the groomed and waymarked runs the south-facing slopes have been looking grassy. This will whiten things up nicely for the second half of the week. It won’t however be enough to set up a giant powder-skiing party. We’re talking about 10-15cm of new snow in most places.
It’s likely to warm up for a time on Thursday too.
As you can see from the snow forecast maps, light to moderate snowfall is also expected across the northern Alps – with 5-15cm falling in most places.
The really heavy snow, however, will be seen in the southern French Alps and towards the eastern end of the Italian Dolomites, as well as Slovenia.
If you are heading out for a February half-term trip, have a brilliant week. Remember, it’s going to be busy out there: so make sure you’re always in control of your descent and slow down when you approach ski school classes, pinch-points in the pistes, hidden dips and bends, and places where pistes intersect. And please remind yourself of the FIS Rules of Conduct.
2 Responses to “Half-Term Snow in Both the Southern and Northern Alps”
February 11, 2022
F J BestAny idea of weather for the following week as most of the country, except for the cities are a week later for half term?
February 15, 2022
Sean NewsomThere’s an update coming soon, Fiona! Next Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are looking super-snowy for the northern half of the Alps. Disruptively so, in fact. I’ve just seen a forecast for Verbier that’s predicting 50-80cm of the white stuff from Sunday to Monday. It’s not certain yet: we need to give it a couple more days to be sure. But you might want to fit your goggles with windscreen wipers in preparation…