Snow in the Forecast - 2nd February 2016

This an early heads-up for anyone away next week (Nelly!), and those of you moving around the mountains this coming weekend.

The forecast models have been teasing us with hints of big change for about a week now, but are starting to point at the end of this week with a good degree of consistency.

All subject to change, especially in the detail - of course, but this is what it looks like right now.

This week's yo-yo temperatures will continue for a few more days; it was mild today but we're expecting useful snowfall with colder air bringing it down the mountain in many areas tomorrow. The end of the week goes mild again, and Saturday looks like it'll start clear and warm in many parts of The Alps, but...

Transfer Days - be aware

Perhaps as early as Saturday evening, temperatures are going to fall and snow will push in to quite a wide area - followed by significant falls through Sunday. We currently expect the heaviest falls to North and West (that's Northern French Alps and Suisse in all likelihood). If your transfer / travel day is Sunday then you should expect some disruption.

It's possible that the snow may arrive early enough on Saturday to start causing disruption but we think that's unlikely at the moment.

If you're travelling this weekend, you should start watching your local forecast now.

Next Week

Well, what can we say? Right now, the forecasts are throwing out snow through most of next week - and not just for the Northern Alps this time; Southern Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites could all be joining the party by mid-week with a Mediterranean Low Pressure system pushing much-needed precipitation Northwards.

Currently, it looks as if temperatures will be around seasonal averages but without the crazy roller-coaster we've seen this week; i.e. it should stay cool next week.

We're expecting to see quite a storm pass through on Monday; high winds and heavy snow in many parts. After that it's too far out to have any confidence but it's looking hopeful.

Time to get your snow dance on again - it's coming!

Massive wind in that forecast, hopefully N Alps will be sheltered this time so there is a net +ve of this bad weather.

Brutal rain this morning and looks like at least for now is warmer than forecast, snow line is above 1600m for now at least. Had a few reasonable plans for the next week but looks like is going to have to be a very conservative week ahead.

Ranchero_1979 wrote:snow line is above 1600m for now at least.

Should drop swiftly, late afternoon/evening with snow in resort overnight.

The Sunday/Monday storm looks like it could be a big one... :shock:

Dropped to 1200-1300m and looks like a pretty decent amount. Big wind though even in town. Will be interesting if tomorrow is a real powder day or not.

As forecast, full on blizzard now at 1000m. Not much skiing being done today in Chamonix Valley. Could be fun tomorrow though, although am sure you won't be heading very high. St Gervais, Les Contamines will no doubt be epic.

It's snowed heavily in the 4 Valleys today and provided a very useful top-up, with falls down to 500m. We had three 'waves' of sometimes heavy snow and fog, so opted to snowshoe today, rather than ski. Conditions previously were OK but somewhat 'cruddy' on north-facing slopes and tending to tapioca below 1800m by late afternoon on south-facing. So it's a big improvement. Temperature on the balcony at 1500m is currently about 2C, compared to 6-7C at the same time yesterday.

Tip: If you're going to Switzerland, get the free MeteoSwiss app and put your destination in. I've found the forecast to be very accurate most of the time and the animated radar gives you a good idea of the approaching weather. Everyone else uses their data collection anyway, so you might as well go to the source.

Meteo France is reporting 20cm with another 10cm tomorrow, I am pretty sure we got quite a bit more than that as solid snow all day up high. Interesting avalanche risk has dropped from 4 to 3 (all altitudes) with the drop in temperature. Will be interesting to see how the snow skis when top lifts open, 100 km/h wind at 4000m tomorrow :-(. Still a bit of wind crust has to be easier than Mondays rain crust.