Got a burning question about weather or snow conditions in the Alps?
Contact us and we'll do our best to answer it...
It has been a relatively quiet few days in the Alps, aside from some strong winds earlier this week and a few flurries in places. The sun has generally prevailed though, and with relatively cool temperatures (for late March), there has been lots of good spring skiing on offer.
As you would expect at this time of year, freeze-thaw conditions have been prevalent, at least at lower altitudes, with rock-hard pistes early in the day followed by a softening of the snow at rate dependant on altitude and aspect. However, north-facing slopes above the freezing level (typically around or even below 2000m) have generally stayed firm all day long.
Snow cover and snow depths remain best in France, western Italy (e.g. Cervinia, La Thuile) and the far south-west of Switzerland (e.g. Zermatt, Saas-Fee). For most of the Alps, however, snow depths are below average. At this time of year this means very patchy natural snow cover lower down in much of Austrian and the eastern Italian Alps (e.g. Dolomites).
As for the weather forecast for the Alps, there will be more in the way of cloud over the weekend with a few flurries in places and some more persistent snow likely across many southern parts of the Alps, especially on Saturday night. It will also turn colder, meaning that any snow will fall to relatively low levels.
After a relatively calm start to next week, the weather in the Alps is likely to turn much more unsettled from around Wednesday onwards with the chance of more widespread snow to low levels. Stay tuned!
Across the pond, the weather is unseasonably warm across much of the western US…
Snow depths remain below par across all Austrian ski resorts, which inevitably means that natural snow cover is now very patchy at low altitudes.
For the best snow cover, and most consistent snow conditions you need to aim for resorts with plenty of slopes above 1800m, such as Obergurgl (80/100cm) and Lech (70/205cm), both of which are skiing very nicely right now.
A few flurries are possible in the Austrian Alps over the weekend, especially in the far south/south-west (e.g. Obergurgl), otherwise most regions will need to wait until the middle of next week for their next significant snowfalls.
Good snow cover still in the Lech area – 20 March 2026 – Photo: lechzuers.com
French ski areas continue to offer the best overall snow cover and snow conditions in the Alps, with healthy snow depths for the time of year in both the northern and southern French Alps.
Natural snow is starting to become a bit patchy lower down in Les Gets (30/170cm) but there is still good cover on the pistes, with good spring skiing conditions reported this week.
For the most consistent snow conditions you need to be higher, in the likes of Val d’Isère (115/215cm) and La Plagne (170/260cm), where the snow is firmer for longer, and all day on higher north-facing slopes.
Further south, Isola 2000 (160/200cm) also has excellent snow cover, but you should expect a bit more in the way of slush in the afternoon.
A few flurries are expected in French ski resorts over the weekend. This will mostly be inconsequential but with some moderate fall possible in the south (e.g. Isola 2000) especially on Saturday night. Further snow is possible to relatively low altitudes later next week, especially in the north.
Beautiful weather and nice pistes today in Samoëns in the Grand Massif – 20 March 2026 – Photo: samoens.com
Snow conditions are excellent for the time of year across most western Italian ski resorts, including Cervinia (80/160cm) and La Thuile (150/240cm), the latter of which has been very solid all season.
Natural snow cover is patchier further east, with snow conditions more spring-like in resorts like Selva (60/90cm) and Madonna di Campiglio (70/125cm).
Some snow is expected in many Italian resorts this weekend, but probably not in any huge quantity, although there is the chance of further snow later next week.
Excellent late season snow conditions in Cervinia – 20 March 2026 – Photo: cervinia.it
Except for some parts of the upper Valais, most Swiss ski resorts have below average snow depths.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of good spring skiing on offer, both in the northern Swiss resort of Mürren (60/245cm) and further east in Davos (55/160cm).
A few flurries are forecast in places over the weekend, especially in the south, with more significant snow possible in the Swiss Alps later next week.
Patchy snow cover at lower altitudes in Engelberg, but still plenty of good skiing higher up – 20 March 2026 – Photo: engelberg.ch
Snow cover remains very impressive at altitude in the Pyrenees where more snow fell earlier this week. It will remain mostly dry here over the next few days, but temperatures won’t be that warm, so it will still be possible to find wintry snow on higher north-facing slopes. Andorra’s Arcalis (290/350cm) is currently 100% open and boasts some of the deepest cover anywhere in Europe.
There is plenty of good skiing left in Scandinavia, with relatively cool temperatures limiting spring snow conditions to the lower, sunnier slopes. Norway’s Geilo (30/90cm) still has good on-piste cover at all levels, as does Sweden’s Sålen (45/95cm), although neither resort is expecting any significant fresh snow any time soon.
Skiing in Scotland is now limited to Glencoe and Cairngorm, both of which can expect fresh snow later next week which should allow them to ski into Easter.
Glencoe is currently one of two skiing options left in Scotland, where snow is expected later next week – Photo: winterhighland.info, 20 March 2026
The weather has turned unseasonably warm across much of the western US, with freezing levels set to hit 4800m in Colorado’s Vail (124cm mid-mountain) in the coming days. Spring snow conditions are therefore the order of the day here, as they will be in Utah’s Snowbird (216cm mid mountain base), which has also endured a very ‘below par’ season.
Lake Louise (247cm upper) has again seen considerable fresh snowfall in the last week, with around 50cm at altitude and more forecast over the next few days. It is quite mild though, which means that the snow may be a bit spring-like around resort level.
Further west, Whistler (215cm mid-mountain) has also been mild at lower altitudes, with some rain in the mix, but it is now turning colder with heavy snow forecast over the coming days.
Snowing again in Lake Louise – 20 March 2026 – Photo: skilouise.com
Our next full snow report will be on
Thursday 26 March 2026
If you enjoy reading our updates - please feel free to support us:
Print