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Updated: 5pm Saturday 19 April 2025 – ‘Normal’ April weather resumes in the Alps...

The weather in the Alps is back to ‘normal’ after the huge mid-week storm that saw the biggest April snowfalls in living memory in some areas.

You can read more about this storm, how much snow fell, where and why in our latest blog: “Massive snowfalls in the Alps during this week’s record-breaking April storm!”

Today there is plenty of sunshine around in the Alps, especially in the north and east. Further west, there is more in the way of cloud, and even a few showers, especially in the south-western Alps.

These showers will become more widespread overnight, especially in the western Italian Alps, again spilling over the border into parts of France (e.g. Val d’Isère) and Switzerland (e.g. Zermatt), but delivering nothing like the quantities of snow seen a few days go. The rain/snow limit should be close to 2000m, with 10-20cm likely to fall in these regions above 2200m or so.

Snow depths are, unsurprisingly, healthy again at altitude in the western Alps, but universally below par in the eastern Alps. Setting aside the temporary benefits of new snow in some western ski resorts, spring snow conditions should be expected over the next few days , with only high north-facing slopes remaining firm all day long.   

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Updated: 9.20am Thursday 17 April 2025 - Monster April storm for some western parts of the Alps!

As we forecast on Tuesday, some parts of the Alps are having their biggest snowfall of the season, and in some cases their biggest snowfall for many years!

This potentially historic storm is a highly complex one, an amalgam of disturbances of both Atlantic and Mediterranean origin. It is broadly affecting the western Alps, with some hotspots seeing exceptional and potentially even record-breaking snowfalls. One such area is the far south-east of the French Savoie where, by the end of Thursday, 48-hour snowfall totals (at high altitude) could be in the 1.5m to 2m range (or potentially more) in the likes of Val Cenis, Bonneval-sur-Arc and Val d’Isère (Pisaillas side). Other hotspots include high border areas between Zermatt and the Simplon Pass, including Saas-Fee.

Needless to say, the risk of avalanche has become critical in these areas – already at 5/5 this morning in Val d’Isère where the entire ski area is closed at the time of writing, with schools also closed and the road to Bourg-Saint-Maurice temporarily cut off.

Lower down, flooding and landslides will be an issue, especially in the eastern Savoie, but more generally in the western Italian Alps.

On the whole, the further north and east you are in the Alps, the lighter the precipitation, with much of Austria and eastern Switzerland staying mostly dry.

We will bring you further updates on this extremely significant April storm in due course…

Updated: 10.30am Tuesday 15 April 2025 – Biggest storm of the season for some parts of the the Alps?

After a relatively dry and warm first half of April the weather in the Alps is now turning much more unsettled, with some serious precipitation on the cards for some areas over the next few days, with both rain and snow.

This storm will be a highly complex amalgam of disturbances of both Atlantic and Mediterranean origin. It will broadly hit the western Italian Alps hardest but with intense precipitation spilling over certain border areas, especially into the Zermatt/Saas-Fee regions in Switzerland but also affecting French ski resorts near the border, from Isola 2000 all the way up to Val Cenis and Val d’Isère/Tignes.

Indeed, a few areas in the firing line could see well over 1m of new snow at altitude (with 1.5m+ in places), including resorts that are still open like Val d’Isere, the Monte Rosa region, Cervinia, Zermatt and Saas-Fee.

The rain/snow limit will be highly variable, generally starting above 2000m but falling to 1500m or lower under the more intense precipitation, especially on Wednesday. At altitude the risk of avalanche will become critical in some of the areas mentioned above, with the risk of flooding and landslides increasing lower down.

On the whole, over the next few days, the further north and east you are in the Alps, the less precipitation there will be. 

Updated: 9am Friday 4 April 2025 – Mostly sunny and warmer in the Alps!

It’s a beautiful day in store for just about all parts of the Alps today, with lots of sunshine and just a little cloud here and there, most likely in the west. It will feel warm in the sun with freezing levels not far off 3000m and maximum temperatures exceeding 20°C in some of the lower valleys. 

Needless to say, spring snow conditions will be the order of the day with hard-packed pistes early in the day, softening at a rate dependent on both altitude and orientation, turning slushy first on low east- and south-facing slopes, and remaining firmest for longest on higher west- and north-facing slopes.

The weather will remain mostly fine over the next few days, though it will turn colder in the eastern Alps next week. 

Updated: 5pm Wednesday 2 April 2025 - Fresh snow for some south-western parts of the Alps…

A huge area of high pressure is sitting to the north of the Alps, bringing plenty of fine, if rather cool, weather. The weather is different in some south-western parts of the Alps though, notably in the Italian Piedmont (e.g. Prato Nevoso, Prali, Alagna), the eastern Aosta (e.g Cervinia, Champoluc) and some adjacent border areas of both Switzerland (e.g. Zermatt) and France (e.g. Val d’Isère, Val Cenis) all of which have seen some snow today, as they did yesterday.

Over the next couple of days, the sun should return in all regions, and temperatures will start to turn a little warmer.

Snow conditions across the Alps remain very mixed, as you would expect for early April. At the start of the week, the best of the fresh snow was in Austria (with up to 50cm in places), but it is now in the south-western resorts mentioned earlier. However, due to the strength of the sun, the benefit of fresh snow can be very short-lived at this time of year.

Elsewhere, spring conditions have been the order of the day and will prevail in all regions over the next few days – that’s to say you should expect a rapid softening of the snow as the day progresses, first on east and south-facing slopes, then later on west-facing slopes, with high north facing slopes staying firmest for longest. 

Updated: 10am Saturday 29 March 2025 – Some new snow, mostly for the north-eastern Alps…

Weathertoski is currently in Les Crosets in the Portes du Soleil where it is cloudy this morning with light snow. This snow comes courtesy of a weak weather front that was, a few days ago, expected to deliver 10cm or so to the north-western Alps but has been steadily downgraded and will now produce just a dusting, at least in this region. 

Further east the front is a little stronger, with falls of 10-20cm possible in the central northern and north-eastern Swiss Alps (e.g. Engelberg) as well as in Austria (e.g. Lech, Kaprun, Schladming) with a rain/snow limit typically around 900-1300m.

On Sunday, new weather fronts will arrive from the north later in the day with further snow for the north eastern Alps (i.e. Austria), lasting into Monday.

Throughout this entire period the southern half the Alps will remain dry with the best of the sunshine the further south-west you are.

Snow conditions in the Alps remain highly variable, as you would expect at this time of year. They will improve significantly for some areas over the next couple of days, especially in the northern and north-eastern Alps where most of the new snow will fall. However, once it stops snowing, any improvements to conditions at this time of year can be very temporary as the strong spring sun gets to work.

There is also very little snow at low altitudes, as there has been all season, so it is still important to aim high. 

Updated: 11.30am Tuesday 25 March 2025 – Mixed spring weather and snow conditions in the Alps…

There is a lot of cloud across the Alps today, with a few well-scattered showers, mostly in the north and east where a dusting of new snow is possible here and there above about 1800m. 

Snow conditions are typically spring-like across the Alps and you generally need to head to higher altitudes to find the most consistently good snow.

In the short term, though, the far south-western Alps are standing out for some notable late-season skiing following significant falls earlier in the week in the likes of Prato Nevoso, Limone and Isola 2000.

The next significant snowfall will be this weekend across the northern Alps (e.g Avoriaz, Engelberg, Lech). 

Updated: 11.30am Friday 21 March 2025 - More changeable weather in the Alps…

After a glorious few days for most of the Alps the weather has now turned more unsettled, with weather fronts approaching from the west.

Many areas will stay dry today, although there is a lot more cloud around with only the eastern Austrian Alps hanging on to any serious sunshine. There will also be some showers or flurries in the south-west, mostly later today and in the southern French Alps close to the Italian border (e.g. Isola 2000) and in the Italian Piedmonte (e.g. Prato Nevoso, Sestriere). In the central and northern Alps, the Foehn will strengthen.

Over the weekend it will remain rather cloudy with showers or flurries becoming more widespread across the southern Alps. A few showers will appear further north, though they will be more scattered with the Foehn continuing to “protect” many areas from any notable precipitation.  

Updated: 6.30pm Tuesday 18 March 2025 – Glorious sunshine for most of the Alps…

Weathertoski is currently in Lech where there wasn’t a cloud in the sky all day. With the ambient air temperature still relatively low, the snow also held up pretty well, remaining firm on north-facing slopes at most altitudes for a good part of the day. 

It wasn’t quite wall-to-wall sunshine across the Alps today though. The far south-west (e.g. Bardonecchia, Prato Nevoso, Isola 2000) saw more in the way of cloud and even the odd light flurry.

Over the next couple of days, most of the Alps will remain fine, though always with the risk of a bit more cloud in the far south-west, and it will gradually turn warmer too. 

Updated: 10.30am Friday 14 March 2025 – Further snow for some of the Alps…

The weather situation in the Alps remains complicated, with plenty of cloud around again today and further snow for some, mostly in the southern Alps, especially the Dolomites. 

It’s a similar picture tomorrow, though the focus for the most significant snow will be the western and south-western Alps (e.g. Val d’Isère, Alpe d’Huez, Isola 2000).

Later in the weekend and especially early next week the weather will become much more settled. The week will start off cold, with a few flurries still in the south-west but, for most parts of the Alps, the sun will return and it will warm up again as the week goes on.  

Updated: 10.30am Wednesday 12 March 2025 – Still highly variable weather and snow conditions across the Alps…

The Alps are under the influence of a humid but, for now, relatively mild south-westerly airflow that will bring occasional showers to many regions today with a rain/snow limit typically around 1500m. Some drier and brighter interludes are also expected. 

The weather will remain unsettled over the next few days with further showers or flurries in many areas before things start to settle down early next week.

Temperatures will gradually turn colder, with the rain/snow limit descending to between 800m and 1200m, and a bit lower in places, towards the end of the weekend.

Snow conditions remain highly variable across the Alps but will generally improve over the next few days, especially at altitude. The far south-western Alps (e.g. Isola 2000, Limone Piedmonte, Bardonecchia) has the best of the fresh right now.

Updated: 10.30am Monday 10 March 2025 – Variable weather and snow conditions across the Alps…

There is a lot of cloud across the Alps today, particularly in the east where there are a few showers or flurries (1500-1700m). The further west you are, the more sunshine you find, especially in France. 

There is also some fresh snow around, but any significant falls in the last 24 hours have been confined to the southern French Alps (e.g. Auron, pictured) and some western Italian resorts (e.g. Prato Nevoso). Other resorts that have seen some useful snow include Sestriere, Cervinia, Monte Rosa, Zermatt, Saas-Fee and even Val d’Isère. However, for most of the Alps there was just a dusting at altitude at best.

Snow conditions therefore remain highly variable in the Alps, with great conditions today in the areas where there has been fresh snow, but more mixed conditions in most other regions, with some places remaining rather wet in places lower down. 

Updated: 10am Friday 7 March 2025 - Mostly sunny today but changes are afoot…

High pressure remains in charge of the weather in the Alps, meaning that skies will be mostly clear again today. It will feel pleasant in any sunshine without being excessively warm, with freezing levels typically close to 2000m.

Over the weekend, low pressure will slowly approach from the west with increasingly cloudy conditions in the south-western Alps (e.g. Isola 2000, Sestriere, Monte Rosa) where a moderate fall of snow is expected late or overnight on Sunday.

The northern and eastern Alps (e.g. Lech, Kaprun, Obertauern) should remain largely sunny all weekend with the Foehn affecting some areas, especially on Sunday.

Updated: 10.30am Monday 3 March 2025 – A mostly sunny week in store for the Alps…

High pressure is dominating the weather in the Alps today and will continue to do so for most of this week. This means the Alps will enjoy a lot of fine weather this week, although temperatures will slowly increase, but not to excessive levels. 

There is still plenty of good skiing on offer across the Alps, especially on-piste, helped this week by the predominantly fine weather. Snow depths remain generally below par though, especially at lower altitudes, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t still some enjoyable skiing on offer if you stick to the groomers.

Unsurprisingly, the Alps are starting to see spring-snow conditions, meaning very hard pistes first thing in morning followed by a softening of the snow as the day wears on, firstly on slopes facing south-east, then south, then finally south-west/west. With the low humidity and moderate temperatures, many north-facing slopes will stay reasonably firm for much of the day.

Over the weekend, the weather will start to turn more unsettled with a southerly airflow bringing an increased chance of snow to some south-western regions, especially up the spine of the southern French Alps and the south-western Italian Alps (i.e. Piedmonte). However, the northern half of the Alps will stay mostly dry with increasingly ‘Foehny’ conditions likely later in the weekend. Next week looks set to turn colder with the chance of snow almost anywhere, though it is unlikely to be heavy or widespread at this stage. 

Updated: 11.30am Friday 28 February 2025 - Improving weather conditions in the Alps…

It’s mostly sunny across the Alps today, after a rather mixed week of weather for many resorts, with limited sunshine but at least a bit of fresh snow for most. The only area not benefiting from today’s largely improved weather is the eastern Austrian Alps, where it is cloudier with even the odd flurry (1000m). 

The best conditions (if only temporarily) are in some eastern parts of the Alps where the most recent snow has fallen. The southern Austrian Alps and Dolomites (pictured) look especially inviting this morning.

There is also some enjoyable skiing on offer across many other parts of the Alps, helped by the improved weather, though the fact remains that snow depths are largely below par for the time of year, and considerably so at lower altitudes. 

Updated: 10.30am Wednesday 26 February 2025 – Fresh snow for many parts of the Alps!

After a very mild few days in the Alps, it has now turned colder, with fresh snow for many, albeit mostly in modest quantities.

Yesterday and last night it was the western Alps that saw most of the snow, typically with 5-15cm at altitude (and 20cm in places in parts of the French Alps) with a rain/snow limit that started at around 1400-1700m but that has dropped to 1000m or lower this morning.

Today any light flurries will die away from the north-western Alps, with most of the snow now concentrated in the east,especially in the Dolomites where an additional 10cm or more is possible.

On Thursday another weak front will bring a few flurries to some of the northern Alps, notably in Austria, before the weather settles down everywhere towards the weekend. Temperatures will remain on the cool side until early next week at least.

This new storm has improved snow conditions across much of the Alps, although any benefit lower down will only be temporary and it doesn’t change the overall situation, namely that snow depths are largely below average for the time of year, and seriously so at low altitudes.

Updated: 2.30pm Monday 24 February 2025 – Some snow for most over the next couple of days…

It’s a mostly dry and very mild day in the Alps today, with some sunny spells but also a lot of cloud around, thickest in the western Alps. Weather fronts will bring some snow to many western parts of the Alps tomorrow, moving further east tomorrow night and into Wednesday. 

Tomorrow the heaviest of any snow will fall in the north-western Alps (e.g. Chamonix, Avoriaz) where 10-20cm of snow is likely above 1800m. More generally across the western Alps there will be around 5-10cm of snow, but little (if any) in the far south (e.g. Isola 2000).

The rain snow-limit will start at around 1400-1700m tomorrow but will descend later in the day to reach 1000m or so on Tuesday night, then 700-900m by Wednesday morning. On Wednesday itself any showers will be mostly confined to the eastern Alps (e.g. Austria, Dolomites) where between 5-15cm of new snow is expected above 1500m or so, and perhaps a bit more in places, especially in the extreme south-east.

Snow conditions right now are generally quite poor lower down, but better at altitude where new snow will freshen things up over the next couple of days. 

Updated: 11am Friday 21 February 2025 – Mostly fine and mild in the Alps…

There is plenty of sunshine across the Alps today, although there are areas of high cloud drifting around. It’s mild too, and very mild in the northern Alps thanks to the Foehn.

Over the next few days, the weather will very slowly become more changeable with a few showers or flurries here and there but nothing significant until at least the middle of next week.

Snow conditions remain pretty good at altitude, on-piste at least. Lower down you can also find some decent piste-skiing but snow depths are seriously below par for mid-late February.

Updated: 11.30am Wednesday 19 February 2025 – Still mostly fine in the Alps…

There has been plenty of sunshine across the Alps so far this week and it’s the same again today, albeit a little hazy in places. There is also some fog and low cloud stuck in some of the valleys, but most of this will burn off as the day goes on. 

Thursday will see more in the way of cloud across some northern parts of the Alps, with even the odd shower/flurry (1700m) here and there, although most places will remain dry and bright.

Given the fine weather, most holiday-makers will be happy with snow conditions in the Alps this half term, despite the obvious weaknesses in many lower areas.

The main problem is that snow depths are way below par at low altitudes across the board. This isn’t a huge issue for now, at least for on-piste skiers, but will become more problematic as we move into spring, unless there is heavy snow.

At altitude, conditions are much more “normal” for the time of year, although snow depths are still below par across most of the southern Alps. The deepest snow is at altitude in the northern French Alps (e.g. La Rosière, Flaine, Avoriaz, Chamonix). 

Updated: 12.50am Sunday 16 February 2025 – Mostly fine in the Alps for half term week…

There is a lot of cloud across the eastern Alps today (i.e. in Austria), with the odd light flurry in the far east. For most other regions it is sunny with freezing levels typically between 1000-1500m in the eastern Alps, but closer to 2000m in the west. 

The rest of the week looks set to be mostly sunny, but with more in the way of cloud for some on Thursday. Temperatures will gradually rise, making it feel very pleasant in any sunshine, with some freeze-thaw action on lower south-facing slopes.

At altitude, and even lower down on north-facing slopes, the snow should remain firm and grippy for now. 

See our archive for what was happening on previous days in the Alps