This evening's 18z pulls rain/snow across the western Alps sooner tomorrow morning...
Moving into the Haute Savoie at 0900 tomorrow...
Here it is by 1300... (sooner is potentially frustrating, depending how temperatures react...)
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
i guess the danger that the mid week heat next week hangs about which given the poor cover low down would just strip whats left clean off the mountain-side. Personally I'll be opening my freezer and blowing the cold air south at this rate
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Three bands of precipitation to keep an eye on over next few days.
First off the one approaching the French Alps now. Temperatures are still quite mild. Snow line as the precipitation moves in around 1800m, as the rain/snow picks up later this afternoon this falls down to 1500m then to 1200m over night as precipitation builds further. By morning snow line would be about 1000m as last showers move through. Could be a fair amount of snow at altitude.
Second what looks like a slightly weaker band of snow coming through from Tuesday mid morning. Snow line around 1000m to 1200m.
Finally on Wednesday morning a more tricky fall the strength of which is unclear, but which looks like being snow to rain at lower altitudes.
I'm not due to the Alps until late March but I am addicted to this forum, your posts in particular. Great stuff and very informative.
How does the start of this season compare to other recent ones though. It looks like there's now some good snow above say 2000m, but conditions are a bit more challenging lower down. With the base being at such a low level should everyone planning hols in March / April be worried?
Many thanks
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:
With the base being at such a low level should everyone planning hols in March / April be worried?
franga, I agree with pam w, especially as the base isn't THAT bad.... it's not great or perfect but most resorts are reporting still "reasonable" bases - to worry now about March/April would be crazy... honest!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The snow in Tirol, Austria is pretty good by my reckoning. Deep solid base, well groomed snow, of course it's a bit hard-packed on colder days and gets a bit mashed up on warmer days but that's to be expected. I'm going back in March and I'm not worried at all, in fact I'm very uplifted by how good the snow is at this stage of the season.
After all it is free
After all it is free
i'd hang my hat on the end of the season being epic - March/April are usually great months for sun and snow.
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Hi
Am off to Les Menuires on the 16th January. Have been reading your posts with great interest. Looks as though a little snow poss overnight tonight and then some more insanely high temps at the end of next week. For the week commencing the 17th January are we likely to see any snow falling from the sky or is the forecast for just clear and cold?
Keep the info coming - lots of avid readers
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Definitely nothing to be concerned about at this stage with regards to March or April.
The last three runs have all slightly increased the amount of snow coming in this evening, Tuesday and Wednesday...
The snow coming in overnight, which should be reaching into the French Alps by now, also looks like it will last a little longer into tomorrow morning when the temperatures are quite a bit cooler which is rather good news if it comes off...
The likely snowfall for Tuesday has also been given a slight upgrade...
Wednesday is a bit of an enigma at present, the operational is a bit of an outlier in bringing in quite a bit of precipitation, but whereas the snow tonight and Tuesday looks heavier in the western Alps, what might come in on Wednesday and into Thursday looks definitely stronger over Switzerland and Austria.
Temperatures are in general a couple of degrees cooler further east in the Alps, bringing the snow line down slightly, but it would still be about 1650m+.
By next Friday temperatures really will be pretty warm, especially in the western Alps and with the sun shining it really will feel like Spring.
How things evolve the week after is still unclear. It does look like temperatures will have peaked by the middle of the month and will start coming back down towards more seasonal temperatures. By the 19th or 20th temperatures could be heading into really quite cold territory and there are suggestions, just suggestions, that we could see some more snowy weather.
By and large FI is looking slightly less extremely cold than it looked like a couple of days ago, but colder weather is coming nevertheless...
"UK Outlook for Monday 24 Jan 2011 to Monday 7 Feb 2011:
Unsettled and sometimes windy weather is expected through this period, with showers or longer spells of rain. This is likely to turn to snow at times, especially in the north and over high ground in the south. Some drier and brighter interludes are also expected, but with the risk of sharp frosts and overnight fog. Temperatures are expected to be generally near or below average, perhaps well below average at times across northeastern parts of England and Scotland, though a few milder days are possible at first, especially in the south."
But these inevitably shift around a lot as the outlook changes.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
nozawaonsen, not just a weather forecast, but a musical education too!!!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Well so much for the freezing January that we were promised by the Met Office and others - middle of this week we see a welcome* return of Atlantic depressions, especially so for Wed & Thurs - look at this chart http://www.seaspritesports.com/weather72.php#map and others on the links above the chart and can see how the various fronts track across the Alps and how it's going to be very unsettled - the big negative is the High over the Med which could become more dominant for the end of the week expanding further North across the Alps.
In fact the weather this week is similar to what we'd exepect at the back end of March and on into April!
I spend most of my time tracking Atlantic lows and you can NEVER actually forecast how they might track more than a couple of days ahead - High Pressure on the other hand is a little easier and they can be a real PITA blocking advancing weather systems - will just be my luck having had a windless Autumn that I'll now be jinxed by High Pressure when I go off to the Southern Alps (Serre Che) next weekend
*Good news in that we should get some decent wind n'waves here on the South Coast - see link below
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Not bad GFS 12z output.
Short term pattern remains the same. Snow line should be moving down this evening and into Monday. Could be quite a reasonable fall for the western Alps.
Another reasonable snowfall starts on Tuesday morning through much of the day (again more in the west than east). Usefully Tuesday and Wednesday morning should be really rather cold. Snowline getting down towards 800m or lower.
Wednesday's snow is a little harder to judge. The operational run is arguing for quite a bit, especially in Austria, but it doesn't have a huge amount of support yet. If it did come off it would roll into Thursday as well, but temperatures would be on the rise by then bringing the snowline up to around 1650m+. Worth watching.
It will be really rather warm and spring like Friday and Saturday, with a bit of sunshine around maybe.
Temperatures still look to peak around mid month and by 19th January things are once again cooling down quite quickly with temperatures below seasonal average, again with some suggestions of further snow...
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
thanks for all this info, been tracking this thread for a while. off to mayrhofen on sat .im i right in thinking some snowfall this week , maybe falling as rain lower down and in the village . then settling down next week , but still warm to start with. if so the hintertuax may be calling on sunday
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Feel alot more positive tonight, to my amateur eye looks potentially snowier and colder, many many fingers crossed
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
The snow passing through the French Alps looks like it has a few more hours to go... It looks like it might peter out around 3am or 4am tomorrow morning. It continues to pass through Switzerland, Italy and eventually on to Austria weakening as it goes...
The next band of snow looks like arriving in the French Alps around 1000 on Tuesday and will last for much of the day. Again it will follow on east weakening as it goes.
Looking further ahead this evening's ECM followed the same pattern in terms of temperature, seeing cold temperatures in place by 19 January.
Though it achieves this using a different route, from the east, to GFS...
tim000, there should be some snow this week in the Zillertal, though it is hard to judge how much. It does then look like getting quite warm so Hintertux could well be a good call at the start of that week. By Wednesday 19 January it looks like it could well be quite cold.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 10-01-11 0:43; edited 2 times in total
Just got home after driving back from Verbier today.
Chucking it down with rain for several hundred kms in France.
That lot should mean a good deal of snow when it gets to the mountains.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
First glance at 18z. Looks interesting and rather different. Week beginning 17 January could look rather snowy if this came off...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
cold but dry from the 17th now??
After all it is free
After all it is free
Should be some light snow showers moving through the Western Alps this morning and on east...
The main action for today though looks like taking place from a separate band moving up into the Dolomites and then weakening up into Austria... Could produce some good snow in parts of Italy...
Tuesday will see a further band of precipitation move into the Western Alps from about 10am then all day, quite strong in the afternoon. The ensembles have been quietly upping the impact this could have in the Western Alps over the last few runs, not hugely, but with temperatures cooling down a little further this could be another decent fall of snow overnight into Wednesday first thing.
By Wednesday evening a further band of snow is working itself up, this one looks like having more of an impact in the Eastern Alps. Temperatures are rising slightly by then so the snowline could be up to 1650m+.
Again temperatures rise to become quite mild towards the end of the week (though not quite as much as in the last few runs), with the sun probably breaking through on Friday.
Out in FI the 00z is not quite as eye catching as 18z, though it's not bad. Temperatures start dropping from 18 January, but this time high pressure keeps any snow at arms length and as norris says much of FI looks pretty dry at least in this run. How next week is going to play out is unclear at present. Almost every model and every run seems to come up with a different solution, the one thing they share at present is it gets colder from mid month...
In Japan... Heavy snow came overnight... Especially so in parts of the Japanese Alps... But also in Hokkaido...
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nozawaonsen wrote:
First glance at 18z. Looks interesting and rather different. Week beginning 17 January could look rather snowy if this came off...
That will do me - out on the 15th
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nozawaonsen wrote:
The main action for today though looks like taking place from a separate band moving up into the Dolomites and then weakening up into Austria... Could produce some good snow in parts of Italy...
Sounds good to me.....
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
nozawaonsen , thanks for the reply. keep up the good work. 5 sleeps to go.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
just checked the webcams , looks like mayrhofen is getting a good dump.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Looks like tomorrow's snowfall (especially afternoon into evening) in the French Alps could be quite reasonable (I'm not suggesting it is going to be huge... but it looks pretty good to me).
A little more to be squeezed out of the system currently moving east over Austria and the Dolomites continue to look like they are going to be rather white by tomorrow.
Possible snowfall Wednesday looks to be slightly lessening, there should be more further east.
It is not looking like it will be quite as mild at the weekend as was being suggested a couple of days ago, still pretty warm for the time of year though!
Beyond that into next week... Well every run produces a different evolution... It does look though like temperatures are going to be cooler than this week. This run (06z) suggests snow from midweek... But until we get some sort of consistency it's a waiting game...
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
nozawaonsen, how's Scotland looking tomorrow, specifically the West Highlands/Glencoe if you would be so kind. I've looked at a few places and I am getting varying possibilities from snow and gales to sun and light winds!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
scotia, looks to me rather snowy and windy overnight into the morning, then clearing a little, snow dropping off and winds reducing.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just flew back from Geneva this morning, and it's been really spring like this weekend. Almost didn't need a jacket, but for the rain, which fell all day yesterday.
Went up to La Clusaz yesterday to see what is was like, but the rain there and the closure of much of the lift system meant we didn't bother. They were refunding lift tickets at 10 o'clock. Base looked ok, with a couple slight of brown patches on the lower slopes. Driving up it looked bleak snow wise, so a pleasant surprise (but for the rain) when we arrived.
Spent a reasonable warm and sunny day in Chamonix / Argentiere on Saturday, which had decent (but icy at the bottom) cover all the way down and some fresh wind blown covering coming in at the top covering the hardpack / ice. Obvious they'd had quite a bit of recent rain in the valley.
brian
brian Guest
scotia, there's a little transient ridge of high pressure that looks like it might just provide a Glencoe classic. kitenski is on his way up there tomorrow, I have to work.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
heres me looking at my weekly j2ski weather forecast like a fool, this is much better! good work all concerned, bit happier about my trip to les menuires on the 15th now. (if it starts looking bad next week can you just lie to me, put off my disapointment...)
Saturday may well break temperature records for the hottest winter's day ever in the French Alps.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
nozawaonsen, thanks, fingers crossed for that!
brian, the Virgin Media folk were meant to be coming tomorrow but I think they'll have to wait. Looks like the forecast warm spell could be cooling a little as well
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
snowymum, here is a chart for Saturday lunchtime air temperatures at around 1500m. I'd use it indicatively rather than for anything too precise. Saturday looks like it will be quite sunny too...
And here is one for first thing in the morning on Saturday for comparison.
Much of the French Alps, Dolomites and east of Salzburg look like they will be warmest parts of the Alps, but it will be pretty warm all over...
At the moment it looks like temperatures will probably drop back to seasonal averages after this high point, possibly going a bit below, but how next week plays out is still unclear.
The last few runs have slightly brought the temperature down going into Friday, but not by much. All in all it looks like it is going to feel very spring like on Friday, Saturday and Sunday... [whether it is record warm, we'll have to wait and see...]
After all it is free
After all it is free
So much great detail. Thank you to all who put the time and effort into providing this information. Takes a fair bit of the guesswork out of trying to figure out what our holidays are going to be like weather-wise.
Appreciated.
Ben
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
BenW, +1 from me
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
nozawaonsen, thanks for all the info. This is engrossing! Going to Zell Am See first week in Feb and a little worried by rain/warm temps and lack of snow! Any predictions? Cheers.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Personally I'll be opening my freezer and blowing the cold air south at this rate 
