Wengen website showing 'light snow' for Monday- Tuesday. Resort websites are always on the conservative side in my experience- I'm hoping very much so
Tune into the Jungfrau Region thread in Snow Reports, I post most days.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
What is a "powerful bise stream affecting the Alps"? Chamonix meteo Sunday evening. I've not hitherto come across that description of wind. Sounds damn cold.
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?
post deleted
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 2-01-17 15:35; edited 1 time in total
Out of nowhere Météo France has a little snow forecast for Thursday. I give up on them!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Brothergrimm wrote:
so a bit of help - getting to zurich on the 9th - can go anywhere dont really care how far ....
i am not familiar with Austris....where would you go - i have a 4 country train ticket for my wife and me
sfia....Austria sounds great - good snow cute town....people have said to me klosters is excellent...
give me ideas with gr8 hotels ...
Anywhere in Austria should be good. Much cheaper than Switzerland. Snow making excellent and decent falls expected. Closer to Switzerland is higher but further east has had more snow so far. Arlberg easiest to get to from Switzerland, or Ischgl (large high area).
After all it is free
After all it is free
Brothergrimm wrote:
so a bit of help - getting to zurich on the 9th - can go anywhere dont really care how far ....
i am not familiar with Austris....where would you go - i have a 4 country train ticket for my wife and me
sfia....Austria sounds great - good snow cute town....people have said to me klosters is excellent...
give me ideas with gr8 hotels ...
If you want cute Zell am See is lovely, by a lake (won't be frozen though). But skiing not huge area. Has a railway too. Or Kitzbuhel of course. Railway again. Skiing not quite as great as they'd have you believe. Large but bitty...
Anywhere in Austria will have good hotels. Been in 4 star in both those towns.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Maybe a shiny separate thread for Austria recommendations?
Short term some decent snowfall coming up for parts of Austria and some cold temperatures too.
(don't take the numbers too seriously, they'll go up and down this just gives you a general idea).
Longer term Austria continues to look good though obviously that is subject to change.
Here's what the ensembles are up to.
The Arlberg
Chamonix
Cairngorm
Sestriere
Eastern Pyrenees
Edit for 06z
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Mon 2-01-17 13:41; edited 1 time in total
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Although the graphics may be a bit naff, www.meteoblue.com/en/weather has a Multimodel Meteogram page where it graphs the outputs of several models, giving an idea of which ones are over optimistic, and the level of agreement between models
This is for the Arlberg ...
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
pam w wrote:
What is a "powerful bise stream affecting the Alps"? Chamonix meteo Sunday evening. I've not hitherto come across that description of wind. Sounds damn cold.
A bise is a cold northerly wind.
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.
howiet wrote:
Out of nowhere Météo France has a little snow forecast for Thursday. I give up on them!
There is a weather system in the N. of France bringing snow to the Vosges, maybe Jura. The question is whether it can make it as far as the Haute-Savoie before being deflected elsewhere. They show quite a bit of snowfall for Weds/Thursday morning.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Mon 2-01-17 10:30; edited 2 times in total
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
davidof wrote:
pam w wrote:
What is a "powerful bise stream affecting the Alps"? Chamonix meteo Sunday evening. I've not hitherto come across that description of wind. Sounds damn cold.
A bise is a cold northerly wind.
A biter?
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Am I right in saying that the blocking high is still there well into FI but has moved west.
Main beneficiary will be Austria and E Switzerland.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
geoffers wrote:
Although the graphics may be a bit naff, www.meteoblue.com/en/weather has a Multimodel Meteogram page where it graphs the outputs of several models, giving an idea of which ones are over optimistic, and the level of agreement between models
This is for the Arlberg ...
Cheers Geoff, that is a really useful tool and looks tasty for Saalbach
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@snowheads68, depends on when you mean? The high pressure that has sat over Europe for much of December is now forecast to move back to the west of the UK, that's allowing low pressure systems to push down over Eastern Europe delivering snow to the eastern Alps as they go.
Pushing into FI it currently looks like setting up over the Azores as is its wont. A few days ago the FI output had high pressure pushing up further north than this which looked a little unlikely but was certainly an option which would have brought much colder weather. As it is the models have flipped and that possibility looks very slim. Instead we are looking at a +NAO pattern which increases the likelihood of snow for the northern Alps (currently favouring Austria), but that's a way off yet.
Still the Trans Europe Express seems to be preparing to leave the station...
Is this one of the longest periods folk can remember without decent snowfall at the start of a season in the French Alps? Or can s remember longer snowdroughts?
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?
Is this one of the longest periods folk can remember without decent snowfall at the start of a season in the French Alps? Or can s remember longer snowdroughts?
I remember 1989 wasn't great. The drought finally broke at the end of February but there may have been more snow over the Christmas period. I remember skiing at Christmas on boilerplate pistes at l'Alpe d'Huez then restarting in March.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@davidof, 89-90 was the worst I recall. Portes du Soleil got down to 6 open pistes. Drought broke iirc as you said end Feb.
@davidof, 89-90 was the worst I recall. Portes du Soleil got down to 6 open pistes. Drought broke iirc as you said end Feb.
Yes 89-90.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
davidof wrote:
under a new name wrote:
@davidof, 89-90 was the worst I recall. Portes du Soleil got down to 6 open pistes. Drought broke iirc as you said end Feb.
Yes 89-90.
and at that time massively less artificial snow making (if any) so if it didn't snow the resorts were screwed?
After all it is free
After all it is free
I think in 2010/2011 there were almost 8 weeks without snowfall. Luckily it snowed quite a lot in November and then little bit less in December, so the base was decent unlike now. We complained that off-piste was sketchy but at least there was off-piste and it stayed skiable pretty much throughout the season. Still by the time snow returned grass started showing in the middle of pistes and it did't come back in quantities needed to change the season. The spring came very quickly, it was very warm and many resorts closed early. We can see something similar this season with only difference being that this time high pressure arrived before base got the chance to form. Let's see what January brings but it will take a lot of snow to transform the conditions, not an odd storm.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@never summer, I do not know about the Northern Alps - but down in the Southern French Alps and as far North as Aosta / Cormayeur where I've been in contact with mates there and SE into the Via Lattea (Sestrierre, Pragelatto, Bardonechhia where I've skied as well) there is substantial snow that should last the season above 2,000m from the heavy snow falls back end Nov and the snow fall pre Xmas.
The trouble is the Xmas hordes have just made it boiler plate on the piste surface, even if that piste is 1.5m deep and it's not so much the lack of snow but the increased numbers of skiers. Any groomed piste is trashed after an hour or so.
So good news is that the hordes are disappearing as quickly as they came and we get back to some form of normality.
The British Army rock up soon for their championships and this will be the third year in a row where there are no x-country pistes open in the valley. Alpine will be ok though.
Outlook still looks dire - and just out of interest what's most people's definition of a "dump".
Mine is having to clear the van of snow off the roof / bonnet and then dig a track out to get to where the road has been cleared, that's usually circa 25cm plus - and last season I only did that once !!!!
There were a few dribbles of 5-10cm but they tend to disappear very quickly.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
thefatcontroller wrote:
davidof wrote:
under a new name wrote:
@davidof, 89-90 was the worst I recall. Portes du Soleil got down to 6 open pistes. Drought broke iirc as you said end Feb.
Yes 89-90.
and at that time massively less artificial snow making (if any) so if it didn't snow the resorts were screwed?
If Luchon-Superbagnères in the Pyrenees didn't have snowmaking they wouldn't have opened a single piste.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
nozawaonsen wrote:
Short term some decent snowfall coming up for parts of Austria and some cold temperatures too.
My snowdance worked! Thanks for the updates noza
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.
@never summer, Yeah the dry period in 2011 was I think from around new year until the end of Feb, but as you say conditions were OK at the start of the dry period. I did my second season that winter in the French alps and was hoping to master powder skiing - can't remember having any proper powder days that winter, very disappointing!
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
Are you suggesting Morris might be a little over enthusiastic? Surely not..!
That said, in my experience he's very good at predicting when and particularly where snow will arrive (I'm not sure how much this is down to luck/skill and how much down to real intimate topographical knowledge) though can be prone to exaggerating the cm that might fall. He's done a really good job with the website IMO though!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Low and behold MF have changed their forecast again, now showing sun for Thursday and the snow forecast for 8th & 9th put back to 10th and 11th.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@howiet, Errr, so there is a complex series of fronts heading our way forming a chaotic atmosphere and you expect MF to get it right 5 days out, I think you are being overly optimistic about the collective capability of the highly trained MF forecasters and the fidelity of the various forecasting models.
The good news is (for me) that the Jetstream is heading south nest week leading to much more unsettled weather (ie snow) it is going to be a lot colder and windier - winter may well be on its way. But the forecasts are going to be a roller coaster of a ride.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just very frustrating that they can't seem to forecast 3 days in advance, never mind 8 or 9 days.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
howiet wrote:
Just very frustrating that they can't seem to forecast 3 days in advance, never mind 8 or 9 days.
You want to try and rely on the forecasts for wind then if wind / kitesurfing, they can't even get that right on the day, though Met Office are now far far better than a couple of years ago.
But same thing happens in the wind / kite surfing communities with people getting very excited about an approaching low pressure system 8-9 days out only to see it get pushed North by a dominant High Pressure system, sound familiar
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?
@howiet, since last Friday the snowfall forecast for this week has looked to favor the eastern Alps in particular Austria. Nothing has really shifted in the model outlook I've been watching except that the forecast snowfall has increased.
Any ideas which model(s) MF use? Another example when they got it wrong was the snow on the 19th of December which had not been forecast the day before by MF. Just seems bizarre in this day and age that the forecasters still can't get the weather correct......except for a couple of the posters on here
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
howiet wrote:
Any ideas which model(s) MF use? Another example when they got it wrong was the snow on the 19th of December which had not been forecast the day before by MF. Just seems bizarre in this day and age that the forecasters still can't get the weather correct......except for a couple of the posters on here
Probably EC models, as they are apart of ECMWF.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 2-01-17 17:40; edited 1 time in total
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Where has the moisture come from for the dump on the Eastern Alps on Wed/Thursday?
They are forecasting around 50ltrs over the two days at 2000m. That would be about 2 inches of rain I think.
Further out Bergfex has a similar amount of snow early next week. Much of the upcoming falls are in pretty cold temperatures.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Never had any confidence in ARPEGE beyond 4 days.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
EPS Control.
GFS.
Both include fronts around the 10-11 January period. With GFS forecasting a massive front at the end of its range. Patience required.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
howiet wrote:
Any ideas which model(s) MF use? Another example when they got it wrong was the snow on the 19th of December
As I said at the time, that may have been to "encourager les autres" - stop too many xmas holiday cancellations.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
