Latest snow forecast
Updated: 5.30pm Saturday 7 December 2024
The storm that reached the western Alps today will move further east tonight but will weaken a little as it does. At the same time, a secondary area of low pressure will form over the northern Mediterranean, which will linger into the first part of next week.
At the time of writing, this storm has already brought significant snow at altitude to many western parts of the Alps. The rain/snow limit began today at around 1700-1900m but, with colder air digging in quickly dropped to around 1000-1200m in some north-western parts of the Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil).
This rain/snow will move east to reach most other parts of the Alps this evening and overnight, generally in less significant quantities the further east you are, but with a reinvigoration of the precipitation (thanks to the area of low pressure over the northern Mediterranean) likely in some south-eastern part of the Alps, notably the western Dolomites.
Sunday will be cold and rather cloudy with some (mostly) light snow flurries here and there, mostly close to the foothills, with some heavier falls likely in parts of the Dolomites and, on the other side of the Alps, in areas close to and west of Grenoble (Chartreuse, Vercors).
Between Saturday lunchtime and Sunday evening, between 15-30cm of new snow can be expected above 1800m across a wide swathe of the western Alps, including Val d’Isère, Chamonix and Verbier. Some areas will see up to 50cm, more likely in the western foothills close to Grenoble. Elsewhere in the Alps, falls are likely to be around 5-20cm, but with a little more in some parts of the Dolomites...
Detailed forecast:
Austria
Saturday night will be cloudy in the Austrian Alps, with flurries reaching most areas albeit not generally amounting to more than a few centimetres here and there. The rain/snow limit will fall to around 600m.
Sunday will see similar weather with mostly cloudy skies and occasional light snow flurries to relatively low levels, possibly a bit heavier close to the northern foothills later in the day.
Monday will not see much change, with mostly cloudy skies, cold temperatures and the odd light flurry to low levels, these most frequent in the far eastern Austrian Alps.
A few centimetres of new snow are forecast in Zell-am-See this weekend but not as much as is due to fall further west – Photo: foto-webcam.eu, 7 December 2024
France
Saturday night will see further showers or longer spells of snow in the French Alps which will tend to ease later on, with a rain/snow limit falling to about 600m.
Sunday will again be mostly cloudy with just a few light flurries (600-800m) but some heavier snow in the foothills close to Grenoble, notably in the Chartreuse and Vercors regions.
Monday will be drier but will still have plenty of cloud around, with just the odd light flurry possible close to the Italian border. Some sunny spells are also possible here and there.
Very heavy snow fell for a time this afternoon in Val d’Isère – 7 December 2024 – Photo: valdisere.com
Italy
Saturday night will see showers or longer spells of snow for many Italian ski resorts, with a rain/snow limit falling to between 600 and 800m. Falls will be heaviest in the far south-west (e.g. Limone) and the western Dolomites later.
Sunday will again be mostly cloudy in the Italian Alps with a few flurries here and there, most of those further east (e.g. Dolomites) with a rain/snow limit around 600-900m.
Monday will remain mostly cloudy and cold but with only isolated flurries.
Not much snow today in Limone Piedmonte, but the slopes should be looking white by tomorrow! – Photo: limoneturismo.it, 7 December 2024
Switzerland
Saturday night will see further showers or longer spells of snow in the Swiss Alps, with a rain/snow limit falling to 600-800m.
Sunday will be cold and mostly cloudy with a few light snow flurries (500-700m) here and there, mostly close to the northern foothills where they may turn a little heavier for a time late in the day.
Monday will remain cold and rather cloudy, but it should remain dry with some sunny spells developing in some intra-Alpine regions (e.g. Valais).
It’s snowing this afternoon in Verbier with more forecast overnight – 7 December 2024 – Photo: verbier4valleys.ch
Outlook:
Tuesday and Wednesday will be mostly dry with a lot of cloud in the lowlands and some of the lower valleys. Higher up, and more generally in the more internal Alpine regions, there should be plenty of sunshine but temperatures will remain rather cold.
Our next detailed weather & snow forecast will be on
Saturday 21 December 2024
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