Updated: 11am Saturday 26 August 2023 – End of another historic heatwave in the Alps…
The record-breaking heatwave that has gripped the Alps for much of August finally came to thundery end yesterday. This heatwave saw two weeks of exceptional temperatures, with 13 consecutive days of above 35°C in Grenoble (France), 15 days topping 30°C in Innsbruck (Austria), and freezing levels hitting 5298m in Switzerland – all unprecedented events.
Another torrid summer in Tignes where the Grand Motte glacier is again looking very threadbare – 26 August 2023 – Photo: tignes.net
Needless to say, this heatwave has hit the Alpine glaciers hard. The Grand Motte glacier above Tignes, for example, is once again almost totally devoid of snow towards the end of summer. Recent years have seen its summer ski season getting steadily shorter, this year closing on 23 July.
Right now, only 4 ski areas remain ‘possibilities’ for summer skiing, these being Hintertux in Austria, Passo Stelvio in Italy, and Saas Fee and Zermatt (also accessible via Cervinia) in Switzerland. We say ‘possibilities’ as at least two of these, Saas-Fee and Stelvio have suspended skiing operations over the last few days due to excessively high temperatures – with 10°C or more at 3200m, with no overnight refreeze.
The weather is now on the change though, with lots of rain expected across the Alps over the next few days. There will also be some snow up on the glaciers, especially early next week, when 50cm or more is possible above 3000m in places, including above Zermatt and Saas-Fee.
Updated: 10.15am Monday 1 May – Snow in May for some parts of the Alps!
After a relatively snowy April in many parts of the Alps – at least compared to the season as a whole – the unsettled theme is continuing into May, with significant snow falling in some regions today.
Heavy snow in Val d’Isère this morning – 1 May 2023 – Photo: twitter.com/RadioValdisere
The heaviest of today’s snow is falling close to the border areas between France and Italy (e.g. Val d’Isère), and Italy and south-west Switzerland (e.g. Cervinia, Zermatt). Val d’Isère has already seen more than 35cm at altitude from this latest storm and has plenty more to come today, with a rain/snow limit around 1600-1900m.
If you are still planning to try to ski in the Alps this season, it’s not too late! There is one more week left before we can call time on the “winter season”, and there are also several summer skiing operations which continue beyond this.
This week the best resorts in the Alps to ski are Val Thorens (closing Monday 8 May), Val d’Isère and Tignes (closing Saturday 6 May), and Cervinia (closing Sunday 7 May). A handful of other options are also open, mostly glacier-based, but the resorts above are the ones that are still able to offer a reasonable variety of skiing, weather-permitting.
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