The big storm in the Alps is over, with the last of the clouds breaking up across the north and most regions left with a gloriously sunny, if still very cold, day today.
Updated: 2pm Sunday 11 January 2026 – Sun and fresh snow in the Alps today...
Sunny skies and lots of fresh snow this afternoon in Châtel in the Portes du Soleil – 11 January 2026 – Photo: chatel.com
Storm totals since Wednesday evening have been over 1m at altitude across parts of the French Alps (e.g. Val Thorens, La Rosière), the far western Swiss Alps (e.g. Les Diablerets/Glacier 3000) and some north-eastern Swiss areas such as the Glarus Alps.
Most other French and Swiss Alpine regions, the west of Austria (e.g. Arlberg) and the north-west of Italy (e.g. Courmayeur, Cervinia) have also seen significant snow, with between 40cm and 80cm since Wednesday night. The far south-east of Switzerland (e.g. St Moritz) and other parts of Austria have seen less though, typically with between 10cm and 30cm. The least snow fell in the eastern Italian Alps, with just a few centimetres in the Dolomites.
On Monday, a warm front will drift across the northern Alps bringing much milder conditions and some rain or snow to the northern Swiss Alps, and the Austrian Alps (e.g. St Anton, Kaprun) in particular, with the snowline starting low but rising towards 1500m or so later.
Between 5-15cm of fresh snow can be expected above 1500m in the Austrian Alps north of the main Alpine ridge. The northern Swiss Alps (e.g. Engelberg) might see 1-3cm, while the northern French Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil) will turn cloudy but should avoid most of the precipitation. The southern Alps will have better weather on Monday, with sunny spells and some cloudier interludes in places later in the day.
Naturally, snow conditions are superb across much of the Alps right now, however, the risk of avalanche is sky high, especially in the western Alps, as already seen by the recent tragedy in Val d’Isère (not far from the pistes). Off-piste should not even be considered without a fully qualified local guide.
Updated: 11am Saturday 10 January 2026 – Cold with more snow, mostly in the northern half of the Alps...
The weather in the Alps remains stormy, with a very cold and unstable north-westerly airflow bringing more snow today, mostly to the northern half of the Alps, before things settle down tomorrow.
Very snow scenes this morning across the French Alps. This is Méribel – 10 January 2026 – Photo: facebook.com/meribel3vallees
the heaviest snowfalls will be close to the foothills of the north-western Alps, including the likes of the Portes du Soleil (e.g. Avoriaz), the Jungfrau region (e.g. Mürren), Engelberg, Braunwald and the Austrian Arlberg (Lech, St Anton). These areas could see in the region of 20–30cm of additional snow by morning.
More generally across the northern Alps we will see another 5–20cm snow falling to all levels. On the whole, the southern Alps will be drier and brighter , with lots of sunshine in the far south (e.g. Isola 2000).
Storm totals since already exceed 1m above 1800m in some of the western Alps, notably in France but also in some western Swiss regions. The notoriously snowy L’Ecreuleuse weather station in the far west of Switzerland just south of the Portes du Soleil, for example, has recorded 114cm in 3 days.
On , the weather will improve more generally but will remain cold in the short term, making for some potentially incredible snow conditions in the ski areas that are safe and open. We stress safe because the avalanche danger will be sky high, not only due to the amount of snow that has fallen in some parts of the Alps, but also because of it falling onto ground that lacks any, or only a very hard base.
Add to that some high winds and you have all the ingredients for a very unstable snowpack. This is not, therefore, a time to be tempted to venture off-piste – it is inevitable that there will be numerous avalanches over the coming days, some of which will be spontaneous.
Updated: 11am Friday 9 January 2026 – More snow in the Alps, and turning colder again...
The weather in the Alps remains very unsettled today, with further snow for many, again heaviest in the west and adding to the 40-70cm or so that has already fallen above 1500m across many parts of the French Alps (e.g. Tignes, Les 2 Alpes), the north-western Italian Alps (e.g. Courmayeur, Cervinia) and the western Swiss Alps (e.g. Verbier).
A very snowy looking Val d’Isère this morning – 9 January 2026 – Photo: valdisere.com
The forecast warm sector has now passed through the Alps, meaning that the rain/snow limit is on its way down again, having briefly reached 1300-1700m in the western Alps last night. at By lunchtime today it will be around 1000m in the western Alps before lowering again to 600m this evening, and lower still overnight into Saturday.
The heaviest snow today and tonight will be in the French Alps, especially in the Tarentaise (e.g. Val d’Isère, La Rosière) and the Isère (Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d’Huez) where another 40cm of snow is possible by tomorrow morning. The far north-west of Italy (e.g. Courmayeur, La Thuile) could see similar amounts.
More generally, another 20-30cm of snow will fall by tomorrow morning across the western and north-western Alps, and 10-20cm across the eastern Swiss and Austrian Alps. Some snow will also get through to the central and eastern Italian Alps (e.g. Livigno, Passo Tonale, Dolomites) but probably no more than a few centimetres.
On Saturday, there will be yet more snow, falling to very low altitudes, with the heaviest falls across the northern and north-western Alps (e.g. Avoriaz, Engelberg, Lech).
By the end of this storm, snowfall totals by Saturday night will easily reach the anticipated 1-metre in parts of the western Alps, however, it will come at a cost, as the risk of avalanche is very high.
See our latest weather & snow forecast for the Alps for more details! And, for more on snow conditions in the Alps and beyond, read our latest snow report.
Updated: 12pm Thursday 8 January 2026 – Storm cycle in progress in the Alps!
The weather in the Alps has finally broken, with significant snowfalls for the north-west over the next 2 to 3 days.
Heavy snow falling in Les Saisies right now – 8 January 2026 – Photo: lessaisies.com
Overnight we have already seen bands of (mostly light) snow crossing the western Alps and falling to very low altitudes. the snow will become heavier and more persistent across the western and especially north-western Alps, albeit with a complicated rain/snow limit.
With so much cold air in place over the Alps, snow will initially fall to very low altitudes in all areas. However, the warm sector of the storm approaching later today will replace this snow with rain in the more exposed areas of the western Alps this afternoon and evening, with a maximum rain/snow limit of around 1500–1800m. However, the cold air will hold on with snow falling to low altitudes for longer in the enclosed valleys, and the further east and deeper into the Alps you go.
Much needed snow this morning in Les Gets, with plenty more to come although it will turn to rain at resort level for a time later today – 8 January 2026 – Photo: lesgets.com
Later tonight, it will start to turn colder again from the north-west, with the rain/snow limit returning to around 1000–1200m in the areas that have seen some rain, but it will probably never exceed this in the more internal Alpine valleys (e.g. upper Valais).
Then, later on , much colder air will filter back across most of the Alps with the rain/snow limit returning to the lowlands by Friday night and staying there on .
By the end of , we should have seen 60–80cm of new snow at 1800m across the northern French Alps (with more in places), with 40–70cm likely in the western Swiss Alps (e.g. Verbier) and the far north-western Italian Alps (e.g. La Thuile, Courmayeur). More on this in our detailed weather & snow forecast for the Alps, out later today!
Not surprisingly, snow conditions in the snow-starved north-western Alps will improve considerably over the next few days, with caveats. Firstly, there is little or no base to speak of at lower altitudes, meaning that there won’t suddenly be a miraculous improvement in the off-piste.
Secondly, the risk of avalanche will become very high, partly because of the heavy snow itself, but also due to the lack of any cohesive surface onto which it is falling (because of the absence of snow or very hard/icy base). Wind will further complicate the situation, so the advice is to stick to the pistes for now.
The best skiing conditions for anyone in the Alps this weekend are likely to be in the western Alps on when the storm will be easing, the sun should start to come out, and there will be lots of cold powdery snow around. However, once again, this is not a time to be venturing off-piste. Stick to the open runs for now!
Updated: 12pm Wednesday 7 January 2026 – 1 metre of fresh snow possible in the north-western Alps by Saturday night!
The weather in the Alps is about to change, with significant snow due in the north-west over the next few days.
Weather models are suggesting that close to 1m of snow is possible between now and Saturday night across some north-western parts of the Alps, notably in France – Image: kachelmannwetter.com, 7 January 2026
Before that happens, we have one last day of mostly dry weather in the Alps (albeit with cloud thickening in the west later in the day) ahead of weather fronts that will bring snow to many regions from Thursday onwards.
Thursday itself will see snow spreading across the western and north-western Alps, heaviest later in the day in the northern French Alps (Espace Killy, 3 Valleys, Grand Massif, Portes du Soleil), the western Swiss Alps (e.g Verbier, Glacier 3000) and the far north-west of Italy (e.g. Courmayeur, La Thuile). The snow will start and remain at very low levels in some internal valleys (e.g. Valais), but will be replaced by rain to around 1500m for a time in more exposed areas later in the day before it turns colder again on Thursday night.
Friday will see further snow, again heaviest in the north-west with a rain/snow limit around 1000m but falling to very low levels later in the day.
Further flurries are forecast to very low levels across many northern parts of the Alps on Saturday before the weather improves from the north-west on Sunday. As a rule of thumb, over the coming days there will be less snow the further south-east you are, though the extreme south-east (e.g. Nassfeld) may see a pocket of enhanced snowfall on Friday.
Between Thursday and Saturday night we can expect 50-100cm of fresh snow above 1500m across many western and north-western parts of the Alps, including Alpe d’Huez, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Chamonix, La Thuile, Verbier and Glacier 3000.
Snowfalls will be more modest but still useful (15-40cm) in the southern French Alps (e.g. Risoul), the Milky Way (e.g Sestriere), the central and eastern Swiss Alps (e.g Flims) and the northern Austrian Alps (e.g. Saalbach), although Austria may see a spike on Saturday night, especially in the far west (Arlberg).
For the rest of the southern Alps, it will be a bit hit and miss, with only a few centimetres likely in Livigno, Passo Tonale and the Dolomites, for example, but perhaps 20cm or more in Nassfeld in the east of Carinthia.
Updated: 1pm Tuesday 6 January 2026 – The weather in the Alps is about to change, with up to 50-70cm of snow forecast later this week!
It’s another mostly dry but cold day in the Alps today, aside from in the far south-east (eastern Carinthia) where is it snowing! The best of the sunshine will be found the further north-west you go, although there will still be some areas of cloud drifting around.
Cloudy with the odd light snow shower today in Obertauern in the eastern Austrian Alps – 6 January 2026 – Photo: obertauern.com
After another mostly dry day , the much-anticipated change to the weather will arrive in the Alps early on , with the first weather fronts reaching the north-western Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil). The bad weather will then go on to affect much of the northern and western Alps, with several waves of precipitation lasting through and before it brightens up again on .
On , the rain/snow limit will start very low before rising towards 1200–1500m in places. On , it will then start dropping from the north-west to reach very low levels again on and into .
Between and we could see between 50–70cm of new snow above 1500m in the northern French Alps (e.g. 3 Valleys, Flaine, Avoriaz), the western Swiss Alps (e.g. Verbier) and the Arlberg (e.g. Lech, St Anton). More generally, most of the northern and western Alps should see 25–50cm. The southern Alps will see much less, and in some cases no snow at all.
Updated: 12pm Monday 5 January 2026 – Still cold and mostly fine in the Alps, before a change of weather pattern later this week...
It’s another cold and mostly fine day across the Alps, though it is not wall to wall sunshine everywhere, with more cloud in the southern Austrian Alps and the odd flurry possible in eastern Carinthia.
Clear skies but very cold temperatures today in Riederalp in the Swiss Valais – 5 January 2026 –Photo: aletscharena.ch
Tomorrow could again see a few flurries in the far south-eastern Alps otherwise most regions will be dry with plenty of sunshine, albeit very cold.
The weather in the Alps will then become much more unsettled from Thursday onwards, with weather fronts moving in from the west, delivering more widespread and heavier snow on Thursday, Friday and possibly into the weekend. This time the north-western Alps are likely to see the heaviest snow, especially the northern French and western Swiss Alps. Watch this space!
For now, snow levels remain significantly below par just about everywhere for early January, with only parts of the far south-west (e.g. Prato Nevoso, Isola 2000) close to or above average.
There are still some enjoyable on-piste conditions here and there, especially at altitude, but also plenty of very hard-packed or icy slopes, especially lower down. There is very little off-piste to speak of.
Updated: 11am Sunday 4 January 2026 – Mostly sunny but very cold in the Alps!
It’s another mostly sunny but decidedly chilly day in the Alps, with temperatures at 2000m typically around -10 to -12˚C!
Sunny but very cold in Braunwald in the north-eastern Swiss Alps, with evidence of Friday night’s snowfall on the ground – 4 January 2026 – Photo: braunwald.ch
It will remain mostly fine but cold over the next few days, but with more in the way of cloud in the south-east (Dolomites, Carinthia), where some flurries are likely later on Monday and especially on Tuesday.
Later this week there is then a good chance that we will see more significant and widespread snow as storms begin to pile into the Alps from the north-west. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, snow depths continue to be way below normal for early January across most of the Alps, still aside from parts of the far south-west (e.g. Prato Nevoso).
That’s not to say there isn’t still some good piste skiing around but, following the New Year crowds, the snow is typically hard-packed with icy patches, especially lower down.
The most recent snowfalls of any note were in the central northern Alps where around 10-20cm (and up to 40cm in places) fell on Friday night in an area roughly between Engelberg and the Arlberg including resorts such as Mythen, Stoos, Flumserberg, Braunwald, Damüls, Warth-Schröcken, Lech and St Anton. However, most of the Alps haven’t seen any significant snow for some weeks and off-piste opportunities remain very limited for now.
Updated: 9.30am Saturday 3 January 2026 – Fresh snow for some northern parts of the Alps!
As expected, there has been overnight snow across some northern parts of the Alps – mostly in very modest quantities, but with about 15cm in some central northern locations (roughly between Engelberg in Switzerland, and the Arlberg in western Austria).
Fresh snow this morning in Engelberg – 3 January 2026 – Photo: engelberg.ch
For most other parts of the Alps, it has again stayed dry, but it is cold which means that the snow cannons are able to operate at full capacity.
The next significant snow is likely to fall on Tuesday or Wednesday and in the south-eastern Alps (i.e. the south and east of Austria, and the Dolomites). More widespread snow is also on the cards for later next week but, again, it’s too early to be sure at this stage.
Updated: 3pm Friday 2 January 2026 – Fresh snow for a lucky few...
A new weather disturbance has reached the south-western Alps today and will continue to affect this region for several days. This morning there are already showers across the southern French Alps and south-western Italian Alps but with a high rain/snow limit of around 2000m.
Snowfall accumulations over the next 48 hours are predicted to be highest (around 15cm) between the central northern Swiss Alps and far western Austrian Alps – Image: bergfex.com, 2 January 2026
For most of the northern Alps this will only amount to a few centimetres at most, and barely a dusting in the northern French Alps. However, if you are lucky enough to be close to the northern foothills of the Alps (roughly between Engelberg in Switzerland and St Anton/Lech in Austrian) you could see up to 15cm or more by tomorrow morning. Either way, any snow will fall to very low levels and will be “dry” in nature.
For most of the Alps though, the wait for the next snowfall continues. Regular followers will know that the weather models have been particularly volatile in recent days with the latest suggesting that the eastern Alps (parts of Austria and the Dolomites) could be in line for some significant snow around next Tuesday but as things stand, the reliability of any forecasts remains middling to low.
In the very short term, it will be ski resorts like Engelberg, Mythen, Flumserberg, Lech, Damüls, Warth-Schröcken and St Anton that will offering the best piste-conditions this weekend.
Updated: 3pm Thursday 1 January 2026 – Mostly fine today in the Alps, with snow for some northern areas later tomorrow...
It’s another mostly fine if rather chilly day in the Alps today. A weak weather front will bring snow to some of the northern Alps later tomorrow and tomorrow night, heaviest in the central northern and north-eastern Swiss Alps (e.g. Engelberg, Santis) and the far western Austrian Alps (Lech, Warth-Schröcken).
Lech should do as well as anywhere from the next storm, with 15cm of snow expected between tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning – Photo: lechzuers.com, 1 January 2026
These areas are likely to see close to 15cm of fresh snow between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. More generally we will see falls of 5-10cm across the northern fringes of the Alps (e.g. Wengen, Zugspitz Arena, Kaprun), but probably only a dusting in the far northern French Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil). The central and southern Alps will remain dry.
Once this front moves away on Saturday morning, most of the Alps can expect several days of cold, dry and sunny weather (above any valley cloud at least). The first real chance of any widespread significant snow now looks to be around 9 January but, this far out, forecasts are far from certain.
Snow conditions remain rather poor across the Alps in general. There is still plenty of enjoyable piste skiing on offer but, aside from in the far south-west, snow depths are way below average for early January meaning that off-piste opportunities are very limited or non-existent.
For anyone heading out to the Alps this weekend, the “freshest” on-piste conditions are likely to be in the far northern or north-eastern Swiss Alps (e.g. Engelberg, Mythen, Santis region, Flumserberg), the far north-western Austrian Alps (e.g. St Anton, Lech, Warth-Schröcken, Damüls, Klein Walsertal) and adjacent border areas in Germany (e.g. Oberstdorf).
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