Resorts in the Eastern Alps which had missed out on some of the big snowfalls in Western Europe over the past months have finally seen their first significant snowfalls of winter 2015-16 over the past 48 hours.
St Moritz, which had been posting a base of just 20-40cm, through January, and like many ski resorts in the region had been using snowmaking equipment to keep runs in good condition, has had more than 50cm of snow in the last few days including 11 inches (27cm) in the past 24 hours.
Another Eastern Swiss resort, Samnaun, has reported similar snowfall.
The snowfall has also been reported to have reached the Dolomites, another area that has had very little snow this winter. The biggest fall has been reported at Passo Tonale, where 50cm has been recorded in the past 24 hours on the glacier. This frequently builds a base of 4m, sometimes 5m, or 6m by the spring in a normal season but again had had very little snow this winter until now. The picture above was taken this morning from the valley below the slopes.
Further East, Cortina d'Ampezzo reports 20cm of snow in the last 24 hours.
The snow is also continuing to fall in Western Europe with many resorts reporting at least a foot of fresh cover over the weekend. Zermatt for example reports 30pcm/12 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours alone.