0
0
Share with your friends










Submit
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Property
  • Contact
  • Sitemap

Logo

Navigation
  • Ski Resorts
  • Where to Ski
  • How to Ski
  • Snow
    • Snow Report
  • Gear
    • Ski Clothing
    • Ski Equipment
  • Family Skiing
  • Ski Holidays
  • Deals
  • Summer

Heavy Snow Expected in the Alps

By Sean Newsom | on January 27, 2020 | 1 Comment
Snow Report
Heavy Snow Expected in the Alps | Welove2ski

Sunshine in the Ischgl-Samnaun ski area this morning. Photo: ischgl.com

Check out the shot of Ischgl, in the Tirol, above. It was taken this morning, when the last of the sunshine was gracing the western end of Austria.

We won’t be seeing it again for a while in the northern Alps: because the high pressure that’s dominated the region in recent weeks has retreated further south than expected. As result, a big Atlantic storm is going to sweep across the mountains, and dump significant amounts of snow.

This is Meteoblue’s 24 hour snow forecast to 1am on Wednesday morning. As you can see, the northern half of the French Alps will be the sweet spot at the start of the storm. 50cm is expected to fall there during the course of Tuesday. As much as 70cm could fall by Wednesday night.

Heavy Snow Expected in the Alps | Welove2ski

Image: meteoblue.com

The snow will spread eastwards as the week unfolds and parts of Switzerland, as well as the Austrian Arlberg, should see heavy snow too. However, accumulations are unlikely to match the final figures in the west.

Expect blizzard conditions on the higher slopes, and a sudden jump in the avalanche risk as wind-slabs form on top of a hard layer of existing snow. Great caution will be needed if you’re tempted to venture off-piste. You might want to avoid exposed pistes during the storm too – until skies have cleared, the snow has begun to settle and resorts have completed their programmes of pre-emptive blasting.

Still, despite the avalanche risk, the new snow will be very welcome. We’ve had a month now of almost continuous sunshine in the Alps, and the slopes have been hard for weeks (except during the snowy weekend of January 18-19). Injuries have been frequent on the hard-packed pistes. It’ll be a relief to have something softer to ski on.

However, you will have to aim fairly high to find those benign, wintry conditions. Because phase two of the upcoming storm cycle is going to be significantly warmer than the phase one.

On Tuesday night, for example, the snow will be settling well below 1000m. On Thursday, by contrast, it’ll be raining up to 2000m. So – as was so often the case in December – a welcome delivery of snow in the lower resorts will followed almost immediately by an annoying thaw. Aim high if you want to ski soft, chalky pistes (or powder) for as long as possible.

By the way, have you seen the second round of fabulous ski drills from St Anton – as demonstrated by the most rubber-jointed skier I think I’ve ever seen…

Share this story:
  • tweet

Tags: Snow Report.

Recent Posts

  • Morzine – For Skiing and Non-Skiing

    March 8, 2023 - 0 Comment
  • Six Reasons We Love Going to St Anton by Train

    February 1, 2023 - 0 Comment
  • 7 of the Best Wines to Sip on A Dolomites Ski Trip

    January 24, 2023 - 1 Comment

Author Description

Sean Newsom

As well as founding Welove2ski in June 2007, Sean has written about skiing and snowboarding in the British press for 28 years. For the last 20 of them, he’s also been the ski travel editor at The Sunday Times.

One Response to “Heavy Snow Expected in the Alps”

  1. Avatar

    January 28, 2020

    Col (@MKcol) Reply

    I was waiting for his knee to pop out when he did the single leg exercise.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Free Updates

Join 16,000 clever people who get the latest Welove2ski content delivered to their inbox

RSSSubscribe 15166 Followers 10135 Fans

The Loveometer

Zermatt: Cool Chalets, Certain Snow and The Majestic Matterhorn
100 %
Tweenager Tips: How to Enjoy Ski Holidays with Older Kids
98 %
How to Go Green On Your Ski Holiday
98 %
St Anton, Austria: Wild Nights, Steep Pistes and Challenging Backcountry
97 %
Weird and Wonderful Ski Fads and Fashions
94 %
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Property
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
© 2020. All Rights Reserved. Created with love by WL2S