The snow that started to fall lightly 48 hours ago and more seriously in the past 24 hours is rapidly accumulating a base depth on Western European ski slopes.
French areas have mostly reported 20-25cm of fresh cover overnight with snow down to the valley. It is now sunny in many French Alpine resorts before the next wave of snowfall arrives, expected in the next 24 hours, providing ideal conditions for those who arrived in resort yesterday for what was at one time the quietest and cheapest week of the season, the week after New Year week.
Most of the resorts claiming the biggest accumulations so far are in the French Alps, including 25cm at Val Thorens (Pictured above last night and below this morning) and La Rosiere, 20cm in les Arcs and la Plagne. Avoriaz the first to issue a powder alarm for 20cm of fresh snow by yesterday afternoon.
However Warth Schrocken linked to Lech in the Arlberg region of Austria have reported a foot of fresh snow in the last 24 hours – the largest measured accumulation so far.
There was also fresh snow in the Pyrenees and the snow is expected to continue over the coming weeks with a large snowfall in the Alps expected again tomorrow.
