The first significant snowfall of the autumn is underway in the Alps with many ski areas seeing 5-20cm accumulations overnight. The snowfall is expected top continue on and off over the next 48 hours with slopes above 3,000m potentially seeing half-metre totals by Sunday.
There have already been some pre-season snowfalls above 2,000m in September and earlier this month, but they've mostly been 'dustings' and made no positive impact on the thin cover reported at the dozen or so glacier resorts that have already opened for their 25-26 ski seasons.
Val Thorens, which, along with Tignes, reported yesterday that it was 30 days until they start the French ski season, is one of the big beneficiaries of the new snow. Les Arcs, where the season starts on December 13, is pictured above this morning.
Besides the snow, ski areas have seen gale force winds at times and also some very low October temperatures, down as far as -15C, resulting in good snowmaking conditions at times. Ischgl, which is one of Europe's biggest snowmakers ahead of its late November opening when it vies to open the most terrain in Austria and sometimes Europe in the run up to Christmas, reported that both nature and its snowmakers were working hard last night and posted the image below.
