J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

This coming weekend is going to be interesting to say the least...

In essence, several bands of very heavy and intense precipitation are going to track across The Alps, from roughly North West to South East; intermixed with increasingly cold air.

Temperatures will drop by roughly 15C between Friday and Sunday.

Local effects are going to determine the exact outcome, but it'll be a mix of very heavy rain giving way to snow for just about everywhere. For some places, largely to the North and West of the main alpine ridge (Mont Blanc), some huge snowfalls are looking likely - down to the valley floor - with very cold temperatures by the start of next week.

Other locations may see initial periods of torrential rain turning more slowly to snow, but our expectation right now is that these will be in the minority.

Another factor to further complicate things is the likelihood of strong winds in places; so we might see top slopes being wind-scoured with lower elevations getting deluged with snow falling in calmer air...

Substantial accumulations on previously warm ground are never a good thing, even if it's going to get cold quickly, and we'd expect the avalanche risk to be high and widespread on affected slopes for a while.

Once the storm has passed, the open resorts should have epic conditions next week but we'd really urge caution for anyone thinking of heading into the mountains this weekend; check local conditions and forecasts very carefully and expect the weather to change very rapidly...

And do enjoy the views changing on the webcams from tomorrow onward... 8)

J2SkiNews wrote:Could this week be the snowiest in the history of the world then? :)

Oh definitely, like EVER! :lol: Do tell the Express; they'll probably explode...

And coming to a mountain near you (if you're in Europe) tomorrow...

We put our forecast updates on pause this morning as we didn't quite believe some of the numbers coming through... but they're what the models are saying and well within the normal reliable time-scales now so watch this space.

We expect the latest update to have been processed within the next hour... it's quite impressive. :shock:

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I haven't even turned the heating on in Verbier yet .

This might be a good time to test it... your daytime temps are looking well below zero by Sunday.

skik1ng wrote:I'm just to excited to get down that first run of the day!

Best prepare yourself to get excited... the forecast for this coming weekend looks, well, exciting! 8)

(killjoy caveat - it might all melt again... :lol: )

This morning, we've sent out over 7,000 Powder Alerts and Snow Storm Warnings!

:shock:

If you're planning on travelling to, or in, the European Alps this coming weekend; you'll want to be checking the forecast and making contingency plans.

For the past couple of days, the forecast models have been swinging into pretty tight agreement on the overall weather pattern for the coming week. We're now expecting to see temperatures drop by around 15C (compared to today) over next weekend, accompanied by a "vachement grand chute de neige". 8)

Exact local outcomes will become clearer nearer the time, but it's looking quite widespread at the moment.

(OldAndy - you can take a breather from the snow dance for a day or two)

Tony_H wrote:USA tends to be cheapest, but you have shipping to worry about.

And tax/import duty - which can remove your saving over the Euro-zone. :evil:

skik1ng wrote:what it looks like for this year?

No snow yet, but it's another six weeks until Xmas and we won't know until closer to the time. Last year the snows came relatively late to the French Alps but that was unusual and has absolutely no influence on what will happen this year.

FWIW, the major forecast models seem pretty convinced that the current Alpine weather is going to break early next week and that temperatures will be around the seasonal average about a week after that.

If you're a glass-half-full type of skier (yay for them!), then you can accurately say there is nothing in the forecast to indicate that it won't snow for five weeks solid before your arrival... 8)