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Updated: 1pm Wednesday 21 October 2026 – Fresh snow today across many higher parts of the Alps...

As expected, the weather in the Alps has turned very unsettled, with rain or snow for most areas today.

At the time of writing, some eastern parts of the Alps are still dry but most of the western Alps have already seen plenty of rain or high-altitude snow, with the bad weather due to extend further east across all parts of the Alps later today.

The rain/snow limit – which was on the high side yesterday and overnight (typically 3000m) – started to lower from the west/north-west early this morning and should eventually reach 1500m across the northern side of the Alps later today. It will stay above 2000m though further south.

On Thursday, the weather in the Alps will calm down for a while before further fronts bring more rain and snow on Friday and over the weekend, but with a highly variable rain-snow limit. Stay tuned!

This very unsettled spell of weather in the Alps is excellent news for the glaciers, all of which will see significant quantities of fresh snow over the next few days. Lower down, yo-yoing temperatures mean it is too early for to make for a meaningful or lasting base, but this is entirely normal for late October.

Read our blog to find out more about where you ski in the Alps this October...

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Updated: 1pm Tuesday 20 October 2026 – Significant new snowfall forecast for many of the Alpine glaciers...

The weather in the Alps is once again becoming more unsettled as slow-moving fronts push into the western Alps today. With a secondary area of low pressure forming over the Gulf of Genoa later today before drifting north-east across the Alps on Wednesday, we’re in for a complicated little period of forecasting, with the potential for some significant dumps of snow at altitude, especially across the south-western Alps.

At the time of writing, heavy rain is already falling across much of the southern French Alps and into parts of the southern Piemonte. During the rest of the day this area of precipitation will move north and east to engulf most of the French Alps, central and western Italian Alps and the southern Swiss Alps.

Protected by the Foehn, the northern Alps, will (to begin with at least) stay mostly dry and very mild, before all regions see some precipitation by the end of Wednesday.

During this period, the heaviest precipitation will fall in the south-western Alps – i.e. the southern French Alps (e.g. Isola 2000), the Italian Piemonte and eastern Aosta (e.g. Prato Nevoso, Cervinia, Monte Rosa), and the central and southern Swiss Alps (e.g. Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Aletsch Arena, Andermatt, St Moritz).

In terms of the glacier ski areas that are currently open it will again be Saas-Fee and Zermatt that will do best from this coming storm, although all glacier areas (including those in Austria which mostly missed out last time) will see a useful top-up. The rain/snow limit will start close to 3000m today but will fall to around 1500m across some northern parts of the Alps over the course of the day tomorrow.

Looking a bit further ahead, the weather will remain unsettled with further snowfalls in places later this week, possible to relatively low altitudes, at least for a time.

Updated: 10am Monday 19 October 2026 – Further snow forecast for parts of the Alps this week...

As expected, many western parts of the Alps saw some high-altitude snow over the weekend, but generally in more modest quantities than originally forecast. Of the 10 skiable glacier areas currently open in the Alps, Zermatt and Saas-Fee saw the most snow and are currently offering the best snow conditions in the Alps.

Over the weekend, Kaunertal finally opened its glacier for skiing, bringing the total number of options in the Alps to 10. The glacier areas currently offering the greatest extent of skiing in the Alps right now, though, are Hintertux with 21km and Sölden with 23km. While the best snow conditions are in Zermatt and Saas-Fee.

The forecast for the Alps this week is interesting but complicated, with weather fronts set to reach the Alps from the west later on Tuesday, spawning a secondary storm over the Mediterranean that has the potential to deliver some significant quantities of snow in places mid-week.

At this stage, the heaviest snow is likely to fall in the south-western Alps and close to the main Alpine ridge, again helping the Saas-Fee and Zermatt-Cervinia areas, but with snow falling more widely and to lower levels than last weekend. Another set of weather fronts is then set to arrive from the west towards the end of the week.

All in all, it looks like a positive week of weather in the Alps with fresh snow for all the glaciers, although heaviest again in the west.

Updated: 10am Sunday 18 October 2026 – Some fresh snow for the glaciers of the western Alps!

As expected, the weather in the Alps has turned more unsettled, with some high-altitude snow in places, but generally not in any significant quantities.

Yesterday saw a cold front bring a few centimetres of snow at altitude to the north-western Alps (e.g. Jungfrau region, Engelberg).

Later today, most of the action will be on the southern Swiss-Italian border between the Monte Rosa and the Simplon regions. Here we could see 10-30cm of fresh snow at 3000m, which is good news for the glaciers in Zermatt and Saas-Fee, even if not as much as originally forecast. Elsewhere in the Alps, there will be very little, if any, fresh snow this weekend.

Next week, the weather in the Alps will remain changeable with some more widespread snow likely mid-week, again welcome news for the many new glacier openings expected next weekend, including Engelberg and Mölltal.

Updated: 10am Friday 16 October 2026 – More snow forecast for some parts of the Alps this weekend!

Following a mostly fine few days in the Alps, the weather is about to change again with some further snow forecast in some areas this weekend.

This change of weather in the Alps will be brought about by a cold front moving in from the north-west later on Saturday, bringing a few centimetres of snow to some higher parts of the north-western Alps (e.g. Tignes, Chamonix, Jungfrau region, Engelberg) with a rain/snow limit starting at around 2600m but dropping to between 1800 and 2400m.

As this colder air reaches the still very warm Mediterranean on Sunday it will form a new disturbance that will throw moist air back up towards the southern flank of the Alps via a warm front.

The area most affected on Sunday is likely to be close to the main Alpine ridge, around Zermatt, Cervinia, Saas-Fee, the Monte Rosa region and Macugnaga. These areas could see 20-50cm of snow above 2700m between Saturday night and Monday morning, although there remains quite a high degree of uncertainty over exactly how intense the precipitation will be.

There is even the potential for falls of 70cm+ in some of these areas if everything lines up perfectly. Of the open ski areas, this forecast snow is currently set to most favour the glacier in Saas-Fee.

Throughout this period the eastern Alps (i.e. Austria) and south-eastern Alps (i.e. Dolomites) will see little if any precipitation.

Next week, the weather in the Alps will remain rather changeable, with bits and pieces of high-altitude snow in places, especially mid-week and in the west.

Updated: 9am Wednesday 14 October 2026 – Zermatt is now open for skiing!

Zermatt has reopened its glacier for skiing today. Only a handful of short runs are open at the top of the glacier, but it is still good news for the resort after summer skiing operations were suspended on 1 August following the relentless heat that afflicted most of western Europe.

Since Hintertux was forced to start taking a summer break from skiing 2025, Zermatt is now the only glacier ski area in the Alps that attempts to open 365 days a year. However, this year, for the first time in the skiing era, there was no summer skiing in the Alps at all between 15 August and 4 September.

This morning, Zermatt’s “live” piste-map shows a small area of skiing open at the top of the Theodul glacier served by two surface lifts and the Plateau Rosa–Klein Matterhorn Gondola, with access only possible from the Zermatt side via Furi and Trockener Steg.

The opening of Zermatt’s Theodul glacier today makes it the ninth ski area in the Alps to open this autumn. Some snow helped freshen up conditions on the Alpine glaciers last week, but snow levels remain very low overall.

A little new snow may fall in places this weekend but, broadly speaking, there is no significant snow forecast for the Alps any time soon.

Updated: 9am Sunday 11 October 2026 – More snow for the glaciers in the Alps!

A few more centimetres of snow fell across many higher parts of the Alps yesterday, adding to the snow that fell on Thursday and making for some relatively decent snow conditions in the 8 glacier ski areas that are now open.

Most of the skiing in these areas is still very limited in extent, although Hintertux – traditionally one of the best options at this time of year – now has 18km of pistes open, albeit still on a very modest 10cm base.

So right now, in Austria, it is possible to ski in Hintertux (18km pistes), Sölden (6km), Stubai (5km), Kaprun (4km) and Pitztal (2km). In Italy you can ski in Passo Stelvio (3km) and Val Senales (1km), while in Switzerland you can ski in Saas-Fee (10km).

As we move into next week, the weather in the Alps will turn more settled and a bit warmer again, meaning that any lower-lying snow will quickly melt.

Updated: 9.30am Saturday 10 October 2026 – Kaprun opens for glacier skiing today!

The Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun opens today, becoming the eighth skiing option in the Alps this season.

Snow conditions on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier are less than perfect today, but still much better than they might have been a few days ago, thanks to a modest fall of snow here on Thursday. What’s more, a few more centimetres of snow are expected here today, and across much of the northern Alps above 2200-2500m or so.

So right now, in Austria, it is possible to ski in Hintertux (15km pistes), Sölden (6km), Stubai (5km), Kaprun (4km) and Pitztal (2km). In Italy you can ski in Passo Stelvio (3km) and Val Senales (1km), while in Switzerland you can ski in Saas-Fee (10km).

Of these ski areas, Hintertux may currently offer the greatest extent of terrain, but Saas-Fee probably has the best snow conditions, as the western Alps got more of Thursday’s fresh snow than in the east.

As we move into next week, the weather in the Alps will turn more settled and a bit warmer again, meaning that any lower-lying snow (most of this being in the western Alps) from last Thursday’s storm will quickly melt.

Updated: 9.30am Friday 9 October 2026 – Two more glacier ski areas open with fresh snow in the Alps!

The glaciers at Sölden and Stubai open today, taking the number of available skiing options in the Alps to seven.

The weather in the Alps has also changed with, as forecast, snow falling across many higher parts yesterday, albeit in varying quantities.

As expected, the western Alps saw the highest snowfall totals with around 30-40cm of windblown snow at 3000m in the (not yet open) Alpe d’Huez and Les 2 Alpes areas. More generally across the western Alps, we saw between 10cm and 30cm of snow at high altitude, enough to significantly transform the landscape in other glacier areas like Saas-Fee and the hopefully soon-to-be-open Zermatt.

Late yesterday some snow reached as low as 1600-1900m in places, but only very temporarily and in very modest quantities.

On the whole, snowfall totals were far more modest further east with just a few cm on the Austrian glaciers. However, even here, it was enough to improve the quality of the piste skiing, not to mention good timing for the openings of Stubai and Sölden today, and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun which is set to join the action tomorrow.

So right now, in Austria it is possible to ski in Hintertux (15km pistes), Sölden (6km), Stubai (5km), Pitztal (2km), with the Kitsteinhorn in Kaprun opening tomorrow (Saturday). Meanwhile, in Italy you can ski in Passo Stelvio (3km) and Val Senales (1km), and in Switzerland, you can ski in Saas-Fee (10km).

Of these areas, Hintertux may be offering the greatest extent of terrain, but Saas-Fee probably has the best snow conditions.

As for the weather forecast for the Alps over the coming days, some further showers and a dusting of high-altitude snow is expected on Saturday.

The weather will then settle down again later in the weekend and into next week, with plenty of fine and relatively warm weather. This means that any low-lying fresh snow will quickly melt, but up on the glaciers snow conditions should remain reasonable for a time.

Updated: 9am Thursday 8 October 2026 – A taste of winter as snow falls in some parts of the Alps!

As expected, the weather in the Alps has turned cooler and more unsettled, with snowfall for some higher areas today, especially in the west.

This morning the bulk of the precipitation is falling in the northern and western French Alps and the northern Swiss Alps. As the day progresses the bad weather will move further east to affect many other parts of the Alps, although will lose its intensity as it does.

The rain/snow line will eventually fall to around 1500-1700m in the northern western Alps later today, but will remain higher for longer the further south-east you are.

The greatest snowfall is likely to be in the western French Alps with around 40cm possible on the (not yet open) glacier at Les 2 Alpes by the end of the day. More generally, we are likely to see 5-20cm of fresh snow above 2800m by tomorrow morning with a very temporary dusting to as low as 1800m in some north-western parts of the Alps.

There will be further showers and an additional dusting of snow at high altitude in places on Friday and Saturday before it turns drier again later in the weekend and into the first part of next week.

Right now, 5 ski areas are open for skiing in the Alps (weather permitting), these being Saas-Fee in Switzerland, Passo Stelvio and Val Senales in Italy, and Hintertux and Pitztal in Austria, with more Austrian ski areas opening soon.

Sölden and Stubai in the Tirol will open their glaciers for skiing tomorrow (Friday 9 October), followed by the Kitzsteinhorn in Kaprun on Saturday 10 October.

Updated: 12pm Wednesday 7 October 2026 – Significant snowfall forecast in some higher parts of the Alps!

The weather in the Alps is changing, with significant snow expected at high altitude in the Alps over the next 24 hours, especially in the west.

Today there are already plenty of showers or longer spells of rain across the western Alps (i.e. the French Alps, the far western Swiss Alps and the western Italian Alps).

However, with mild air still in place, the rain/snow limit remains high for the time being – typically around 3000m. Precipitation will become more widespread on Thursday but will remain heaviest in the western and north-western Alps where 20-40cm of snow is possible above 3000m, including on the (not yet open) glaciers of Les 2 Alpes and Tignes.

More generally at high altitude across the Alps there will be falls of 5-20cm of new snow, although some far southern and south-eastern areas (e.g. the Dolomites) may see next to nothing.

With colder air digging in on Thursday the rain/snow limit will also descend, reaching 1500-2000m in most places by the end of the day – first in the north-west, and lastly further south-east.

While there is nothing remotely remarkable about this upcoming snowfall, it will significantly improve snow conditions on the glaciers in the Alps, both on those that are open and not yet open for skiing.

This is always good news after a hot summer, especially after this year’s torrid one, which saw unusually warm and dry weather in the Alps extending right through September.

Updated: 12pm Monday 5 October 2026 – Snow is forecast for the Alps on Thursday!

The weather models have been hinting at it for a little while, but they are now in unanimous agreement: snow is forecast across the Alps on Thursday, and potentially to quite low altitudes too.

Before anyone gets too excited, however, the usual caveats apply. Snow in the Alps in early October is neither unusual, nor does it tell us anything about how early-season snow conditions might pan out. We’re also NOT talking about a mega-dump.

What we should see, though, is enough fresh snow to improve skiing conditions on the glaciers, all of which are in dire condition following what is widely considered to have been the hottest summer on record in the Alps, with exceptionally warm and dry weather continuing throughout September.

We’ve already seen flurries across some eastern parts of the Alps today, giving a dusting to some of the Austrian glaciers, including Hintertux. But these are localised, high-altitude and very modest snowfalls.

The more significant change will arrive later on Wednesday as more active weather fronts move in, introducing colder polar air from the north-west.

Initially, the rain/snow limit will be close to 3000m, but the snowline will fall rapidly on Thursday, dropping below 2000m, with a dusting possible as low as 1500m in places.

The heaviest precipitation from this autumn storm is expected in the northern Alps, where around 5–15cm of fresh snow is likely above 2500m, with 20cm or more possible in some favoured spots.

Temperatures will turn a little milder again on Friday, but conditions will remain unsettled, with further dustings of snow likely at glacier level.

So, while this is certainly not the start of winter, Thursday’s snowfall should provide a welcome refresh for the Alps’ struggling glaciers — and make things look a bit more wintry, at least for a time…

Updated: 9.30am Saturday 3 October 2026 – Saas-Fee reopens for skiing today!

Saas-Fee’s glacier reopens for skiing today, in Switzerland, seven weeks after operations were suspended on 10 August due to extreme heat. It becomes the fifth ski area in the Alps to open this autumn, although only its two highest surface lifts are currently running.

The other ski areas currently open in the Alps include Austria’s Hintertux, the most extensive option right now with 12km of pistes on offer. Also in Austria, skiing is available on the glacier at Pitztal. In Italy, you can ski on the glaciers at Val Senales and Passo Stelvio.

After an exceptionally hot, record-breaking summer in the Alps, September continued to be very warm and dry, meaning that snow conditions at the select few glaciers currently open remain poor and are being heavily managed.

The weather forecast for the Alps does offer some hope for the alpine glaciers, with the first significant high-altitude snowfalls of the autumn possible later next week, though it is still too early to be sure. Watch this space…

Updated: 10am Friday 2 October 2026 – Hintertux glacier opens for skiing today!

The glacier at Hintertux opens today, now the fourth option for skiing in the Alps this autumn, after Italy’s Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, and Pitztal in Austria.

Hintertux reports that 12km of pistes are open. However, with only a 5cm icy base to play with, not to mention the thick fog and drizzle shrouding the area early this morning, it won’t go down as the best opening day of a ski season in the Alps!

The weather in the Alps should improve later today, and especially tomorrow, when the glacier at Saas-Fee in Switzerland will also reopen for skiing having suspended operations on 10 August. However, the snow quality remains very poor across all skiable glaciers in the Alps, with not much sign of any serious relief coming any time soon.

There may be a little high-altitude snow in the Alps later next week but that’s still a long way off, so remains very uncertain at this stage.

2 October 2026

Updated: 10.20am Saturday 26 September 2026 – Pitztal glacier opens for skiing today!

The extent of skiing on all these glaciers remains very limited with just two runs open in Pitztal on a heavily managed base. There was a dusting of snow on the Austrian glaciers mid-week, though not enough to radically transform the otherwise barren landscape for any length of time. Overall, the weather in the Alps this September has again been exceptionally dry and warm.

Looking a bit further ahead, the forecast for the Alps remains unfavourable for the glaciers, with next week set to get off to a very warm start across the board. It will turn a fraction cooler mid-week with some showers and even a dusting of snow possible at high altitude, however, temperatures will remain above average for the foreseeable future.

Next weekend will see Hintertux - which until recently opened 365 days a year –open its glacier for skiing for the first time since July. Sölden and Kaunertal, however, have postponed their openings and (at the time of writing) have yet to confirm until what exact dates. 

Read our latest blog to find out where you can normally ski in the Alps in September…

Updated: 10.30am Saturday 19 September 2026 – Val Senales opens for skiing today!

Before anyone gets too excited, the extent of available skiing at Val Senales is, for now, very limited (less than 1km of piste) and is entirely dependent on artificial snow. Passo Stelvio is only slightly better with around 3km of pistes open.

The next wave of glacier skiing openings are expected to be in Austria, where Pitztal, Kaunertal, Kaprun and Sölden are all scheduled to open next weekend (25-26 September 2026). However, with snow conditions remaining poor, some of these areas may push these opening dates back.

The weather in the Alps is not very promising for snow sports enthusiasts right now. It is mostly dry and warm again, and will turn quite hot even in the western Alps where freezing levels are set to surpass 4000m for several days in a row.

Towards the end of next week, it may turn cooler from the east with a sprinkling of snow possible on the Austrian glaciers, albeit nothing significant at this stage. Indeed, it will probably turn very warm again towards the end of the month.

Updated: 11.25am Friday 11 September 2026 – Fresh snow in the Alps!

As usual, we are at pains to point out that this snow means nothing in terms of the coming winter ski season. However, with a temporary dusting as low as 2600m and 20cm+ in places above 3400m, it has at least spruced up the appearance of the glaciers, which have suffered unprecedented damage this summer, in the context of the “skiing era”.

Whether or not this fresh snow will be enough to allow either Zermatt or Saas-Fee to contemplate reopening their glaciers for skiing any time soon remains to be seen. Due to the combination of heatwaves and high-altitude rain, Zermatt, which is normally open for skiing all year-round, suspended operations on 1 August 2026, while Saas-Fee (which opened in mid-July) gave up just 10 days later.

At the time of writing, the only ski area in the Alps currently open is Italy’s Passo Stelvio, although Val Senales (Schnalstal) hopes to join the action on 18 September.

In Austria, the glaciers at Sölden, Hintertux, Pitztal and Kaunertal are all expected to open for skiing around 25 or 26 September.

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