Snow Is Stacking Up

Europe Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest Europe Daily Snow

By Luke Stone, Forecaster Posted 1 month ago November 20, 2024

Summary

The first of two storms is underway in the Alps, with heavy snow falling from the central French Alps through the central Austrian Alps. This storm will linger through Thursday morning, and then storm number two arrives on Thursday afternoon. Significant accumulations are expected in the western Alps during this time. A weaker system is looking more likely early next week.

Short Term Forecast

Heavy snow has been falling across the western Alps over the last twenty-four hours and will continue this (Wednesday) afternoon. Snow will become more showery, lingering in the northern French and Swiss Alps through Thursday. Heavy snow returns Thursday night as the second wave moves in, persisting through Friday morning. Another period of snow showers is expected through Saturday.

With just a handful of resorts open at the moment, snow reporting is extremely limited. Here are some totals I've gathered on social media:

Cervinia:
- 2500 m: 50 cm
- 2000 m: 25 cm
- 1800 m: 15 cm
Les Arcs
- 2000 m: 20 cm

An additional 10 - 20 cm is possible in the northern French and Swiss Alps, with < 10 cm elsewhere.

Round two moves in on Thursday afternoon, and heavy snow quickly returns. Accumulations are expected to be in the 35 - 70 cm range again in the northern French through the central Swiss Alps. Expect 20 - 50 cm for the southern French Alps, the eastern Swiss Alps, and the western Austrian Alps. The far southern French Alps and the central/eastern Austrian Alps will see an additional 5 - 15 cm.

This storm is on track to be a bit colder as well, although snow levels will climb a bit on Thursday. Additional snow accumulations from the high-resolution European model are shown below.

This storm will wind down on Friday night, with any lingering snow showers tapering off. A ridge will build in for the weekend, and temperatures will rise significantly.

The storm track will be pushed north of the Alps and Pyrenees for a few days, but by Monday, the ridge will weaken enough to allow a storm to track farther south. This can be seen in the middle of the GIF below. This would bring a weak and fairly warm storm into the Alps.

Extended Forecast

There are some signs of a stronger storm later in the month, around the 30th, but enough disagreement remains in the models that I have low confidence in this scenario at the moment. I also don't see any clear signs of another blocking ridge, so that is good news. Thanks for reading the Europe Daily Snow!

Next post on Wednesday.

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow

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