Europe’s Deepest Snow Depth Finally Reaches 4 Metres

Conditions have turned colder and snowier for the final few days of March, particularly on higher slopes, which should be good news for the Easter holiday fortnight coming up in the first half of April.

Several weeks of predominantly warm, dry and sunny weather which has led to an ongoing meltdown of snow cover in the Alps, particularly at lower lying centres, is ending as a front brings cold and moisture laden air in from the northwest, initial reaching France and western Switzerland and Italy but now moving east right across the Alps.

Tignes reached a 4 metre base on Saturday, the first ski area in Europe to reach that stat this season. Switzerland's Saas-Fee is on 3 metres, La Plagne 295cm and Flaine 280cm.

All are forecast to see several feet of snowfall on higher slopes through the coming week.

The snowfall is good news for ski areas with plenty of high altitude terrain but comes a little too late for lower altitude slopes which have seen much of their snow melt away in recent weeks and have then seen rain initially, rather than snow, from this fresh front, although the freezing point is now dropping.

Austria's St Johann in Tirol, which has its highest lifts at just over 1600m, announced on Saturday that it would have to close early for the season on Sunday due to this combination of unfavourable conditions.