Updated: 5.30pm 31 October 2020 - More resorts open in Switzerland…
Three more Swiss ski resorts (Andermatt, Laax and Arosa) have opened for skiing, albeit in a limited capacity and only at weekends. This brings the total number of resorts in Switzerland offering skiing to 10.
Fabulous weather and snow conditions on the Kaunertal glacier today – 31 October 2020 – Photo: facebook.com/Kaunertal.Gletscher
It was largely sunny today in the Alps – great news for anyone lucky enough to be on the slopes – and also warm, with freezing levels typically at around 3500m. The weather will remain mostly dry on Sunday, though cloud cover will increase across the northern half of the Alps.
Weather-permitting, skiing is now possible in Switzerland in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000, Verbier, Davos-Klosters (weekends only), Andermatt (weekends only), Diavolezza (weekends and Wednesdays), Laax (weekends only), and Arosa (weekends only).
All eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal) are open for skiing. Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year.
In Italy, Cervinia has been forced to suspend skiing operations due to government decree, but it is still possible to ski in Sulden am Ortler and Val Senales. Passo Stelvio is now closed for the winter.
There is currently no skiing in France due to the national lockdown.
Updated: 12pm Friday 30 October 2020 - A warm few days for the Alps…
The weather in the Alps has turned much milder over the last couple of days and will remain on the warm side over the weekend. There are still some showers across the far eastern Austrian Alps today, with a rain/snow level rising above 2000m. Elsewhere in the Alps it is dry and largely sunny.
Skiing commences in the Lac des Vaux sector in Verbier today – 30 October 2020 – Photo: verbier.ch
The weather in the Alps is expected to be mostly fine and very mild right through the weekend, though cloud may increase in the northern Alps on Sunday.
Verbier is the latest major resort to offer some skiing, having opened a couple of runs in the Lacs des Vaux region today. However, skiing is no longer possible in France due to the new lockdown measures which came into force today.
Weather permitting, skiing is now possible in Switzerland on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays). Davos-Klosters has also opened two non-glacial runs (open at weekends only) and Verbier opened a couple of runs in its Lac de Vaux area for the first time today.
Great snow conditions on the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz – 30 October 2020 - Photo: facebook.com/Diavolezzalagalb
All eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal) are open for skiing. Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year.
In Italy, Cervinia has been forced to suspend skiing operations due to government decree, but it is still possible to ski in Sulden am Ortler and Val Senales. Passo Stelvio is now closed for the winter.
For anyone lucky enough to be in the Alps right now, and in a position to ski, not only are snow conditions still good on the glaciers but the weather is also forecast to be great this weekend and into the first part of next week. However, with freezing levels pushing up towards 3500m there will be a rapid thaw of any low-lying snow.
Updated: 5pm Thursday 29 October 2020 – Turning warmer and more settled…
Today saw further showers across the northern and eastern Alps, bringing a little snow above 1500-1900m, with the best of any sunshine in the south-western Alps.
Madonna di Campiglio (due to open 21 November) has had more snow than most recently, but much of its lower-lying snow will melt over the next few days – 29 October 2020 – Photo: funiviecampiglio.it
Tomorrow will see showers across the eastern Austrian Alps (e.g. Obertauern), but with a higher rain/snow limit, rising to 2500m or so. It will be mostly dry elsewhere, with plenty of sunshine in the southern and western Alps. The weather at the weekend then looks as if it will be fine and very mild across the board.
Unfortunately, there is no longer any skiing available in France due to the second national lockdown which starts tomorrow (and is planned to last until at least the end of November). This forced both Les 2 Alpes and Tignes to suspend their glacier operations and means that other resorts (such as Val d’Isère and Val Thorens) will also not be opening in late November as previously scheduled.
In Italy, Cervinia has also been forced to suspend skiing operations due to government decree, but it is still possible to ski in Sulden am Ortler, Val Senales and Passo Stelvio.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays). Davos-Klosters has also opened two non-glacial runs (open at weekends only). Verbier has recently announced that it will open a couple of runs in its Lac de Vaux area tomorrow.
All eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal) are open for skiing. Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year!
For anyone lucky enough to be in the Alps right now, and in a position to ski, not only are snow conditions still good on the glaciers but the weather is also forecast to be great this weekend.
Updated: 10.30am Tuesday 27 October 2020 – Lots of new snow across the Alps but warming up again later this week…
As expected, a major new storm hit the Alps yesterday bringing significant snow to many parts, especially at altitude. Snow will linger for a time today across some eastern parts of the Alps, notably in Austria, while the western Alps will be brighter.
Gorgeous wintry scenes in Zermatt this morning – 27 October 2020 – Photo: zermatt.ch
The rain/snow limit began quite high yesterday in the southern and eastern Alps, typically around 2000m, before lowering later in the day. It started lower in the northern and western Alps, already down to 1000-1500m in the morning before lowering further to 800-1200m later in the day.
The areas that have seen the greatest snowfall totals from this new storm are the central southern, eastern and south-eastern Alps, with 40-60cm of fresh snow so far at altitude in resorts such as St Moritz, Obergurgl and Hintertux.
60cm of new snow in Hintertux – 27 October 2020 – Photo: facebook.com/Hintertux.gletscher
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, weather fronts will flirt with the northern Alps, bringing a few showers (snow 1800-2300m) from time to time. The central and southern Alps will be drier with some sunshine. High pressure is then expected to dominate the weather in the Alps by the weekend, with plenty of sunshine and very mild temperatures.
Snow conditions in the Alps remain very impressive at altitude, especially on the glaciers. Lower down, however, much of the new snow will melt again over the next few days as temperatures increase. That said, some high non-glacial ski areas such as Obergurgl probably now have enough snow to last until winter “proper”, but for most Alpine resorts it is still too early to be talking about lasting bases.
Weather-permitting many glaciers are open for skiing across the Alps, including all eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal). Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year!
New snow to low levels in the Austrian Vorarlberg. This is Mellau – 27 October 2020 – Photo: mellau.at
In Italy it is possible to ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales. Sulden am Ortler has also managed to open a small number of non-glacial runs.
Cervinia has unfortunately had to suspend operations due to emergency government measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It is uncertain when skiing operations will re-open, but we will bring you more news on this as soon as we know.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays). Davos-Klosters has also just opened two non-glacial runs (open at weekends only).
In France you can ski on the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 11.20am Sunday 25 October 2020 – New storm to start the week…
The weather is fine today across most of the Alps, though cloud will thicken across the west and south-west later, heralding the arrival of a new storm set to deliver significant snowfall to many areas on Sunday night and Monday.
Weather and snow conditions have been kind for the opening of Cervinia’s ski area this weekend – 25 October 2020 – Photo: facebook.com/BreuilCerviniaValtournenche
The areas set to see the most snow over the next 36 hours will be the central-southern and south-eastern Swiss Alps (e.g. Andermatt, St Moritz), the south-western Austrian Alps (e.g. Obergurgl) and the central Italian Alps (e.g. Madesimo, Livigno, Passo Tonale). These areas could see 40-60cm of new snow above 2000m by Tuesday morning.
Most other parts of the Alps will also see a moderate fall, with 15-40cm likely at altitude. The rain/snow limit will start at around 2000m tonight but will fall closer to 1000m in most areas by or during tomorrow, dropping earliest in the north-western Alps, latest in the south-eastern Alps.
Weather fronts will continue to flirt with some northern parts of the Alps mid-week, bringing some showers and a little high-altitude snow here and there, but next weekend currently looks like it will be warm and sunny across the board.
Weather-permitting (i.e. depending on the wind) many glaciers are open for skiing across the Alps, including all eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal). Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year!
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio, Val Senales and Cervinia (where some non-glacial runs are also open). Sulden am Ortler has also managed to open a small number of non-glacial runs.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays). Davos-Klosters has also just opened two non-glacial runs (at weekends only).
In France you can ski on the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 12pm Saturday 24 October 2020 - Fabulous weather and snow conditions for Cervinia’s opening day…
Cervinia opens for skiing today – the first Alpine resort this season to offer any significant non-glacial terrain – with skiing possible all the way down to its Plan Maison mid-station at 2500m. Other new openings include Davos-Klosters (at weekends only), Sulden am Ortler and Kitzbühel.
Fabulous weather and snow conditions for Cervinia’s opening day – 24 October 2020 – Photo: cervinia.it
The weather has been kind for Cervinia’s opening day today, greeting skiers with blue skies and 5-10cm of fresh overnight snow. This follows a very bad weather day in the Alps yesterday, which saw lots of rain lower down (especially in the French Alps) and some snow at high altitude (initially only above 2700m but lowering to around 2100m or so later in the day).
Today the freshest snow and best overall skiing conditions in the Alps are in Les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Glacier 3000 (in the far west of Switzerland), all of which have seen 20-40cm of new snow up top.
This morning, skies are still cloudy across many eastern parts of the Alps with some showers (snow above 2000m), notably in Austria. Further west the sun is out (at altitude at least), with this sunnier weather set to extend a bit further east as the day progresses.
Artificial snow being added to the already impressive base on Cervinia’s upper slopes yesterday – Photo: cervinia.it, 23 October 2020
Weather-permitting (i.e. depending on the wind) many glaciers are open for skiing across the Alps, including all eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal). Non-glacial Kitzbühel has also opened a token early run in its Resterhöhe sector using snow stored and preserved from last year!
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio, Val Senales and Cervinia. Sulden am Ortler has also managed to open a small number of non-glacial runs.
Skiing has also begun on the non-glacial slopes of Sulden am Ortler – 24 October 2020 – Photo: sulden.it-wms.com
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays). Davos-Klosters has also just opened two non-glacial runs.
In France you can ski on the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 11am Wednesday 21 October 2020 – Still windy and warm!
A mild but strong southerly airflow is dominating the weather in the Alps right now, with Foehn conditions in the central and northern valleys.
The Foehn has “eaten” much of the recent snow in the northern Alps. This is Damüls in the Vorarlberg, which had been completely covered in snow just a few days ago – 21 October 2020 –Photo: damuels.at
Unsurprisingly, the recent snowfall has seen a steady thaw of over the last couple of days, which will accelerate today, especially on the northern side of the Alps where temperatures will climb into the 20°Cs in some Foehn-affected valleys.
Today the weather in the Alps will be mostly dry but with quite a lot of high and mid-level cloud. The wind is affecting some (but not all) glacier operations, with Glacier 3000, Zermatt and Les 2 Alpes all closed at the time of writing this morning.
Weak weather fronts will approach the Alps from the west tomorrow, bringing a few showers (snow 2600m) to parts of the French, western Italian and south-western Swiss Alps, though they will not amount to much. Showers will become a bit more widespread (snow 2300-2600m) on Friday, heaviest in the western Alps. Saturday should then see fine weather across the board.
Sadly, despite abundant early season snowfall, most of the low-lying snow has now either melted or is in the process of melting, and the snow-line will continue to creep upwards over the coming days, leaving it unlikely that any significant non-glacial bases will have been built.
The recent snow has certainly not all been wasted though, as it has left the glaciers with excellent cover, even if the quality of the skiing surfaces may be temporarily diminished by the effect of the wind.
Cervinia has some of the most impressive snow cover in the Alps but even at 2500m (at Plan Maison, pictured) there are signs of a thaw – 21 October 2020 – Photo: cervinia.it
Weather-permitting (i.e. depending on the wind) many glaciers are open for skiing across the Alps, including all eight of Austria’s glacier areas (Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal).
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza (though Diavolezza is currently only open at weekends and on Wednesdays).
In France you can ski on the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 5pm Tuesday 20 October 2020 – Much warmer but very windy at times…
As expected, the weather in the Alps has warmed up dramatically over the last day or two, with freezing levels close to 4000m today. Today has been mostly dry but also very windy with Foehn conditions in the northern Alps.
The snow is disappearing again lower down in the Alps. This is Méribel – 20 October 2020 – Photo: meribel.net
It will continue mostly dry but very windy on Wednesday, with gusts of 120kph possible across the northern Alps where the Foehn will be at its peak. Most places will stay dry but there will be a lot of cloud across the southern and western Alps with the best of any brightness in the north and east. Freezing levels will again be close to 4000m with temperatures as high as 24°C possible in some Foehn-affected valleys (e.g. in the Vorarlberg and northern Tirol).
Needless to say, today has seen a rapid thaw of low-lying snow. This will accelerate tomorrow, especially in the northern Alps. Snow conditions on the glaciers will also deteriorate to some extent – there is still plenty of snow at these altitudes but the strong winds will compact and harden the skiing surfaces.
The weather in the Alps will calm down again by the weekend when plenty of sunshine is expected in all parts.
Many Alpine glaciers are currently open, weather-permitting (i.e. depending on the wind). These include, all eight of Austria’s glacier areas, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza.
In France you can ski on the glaciers in Tignes Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 3pm 19 October 2020 - Turning warmer and windier…
It was a great day to be in the Alps today, with long sunny spells and freezing levels pushing towards, or even exceeding 3000m. The weather in the Alps will turn warmer still over the next few days but it will turn increasingly windy, which will hamper ski operations on many of the glaciers.
Plenty of snow at altitude in the Hochkönig area but much of this will melt by the end of the week – 19 October 2020 – Photo: hochkoenig.at
The strengthening southerly wind will push freezing levels towards 4000m across many parts of the Alps mid-week. The Foehn will also develop across the northern Alps, accelerating the thaw of any low-lying snow. The wind will ease again later in the week, but it will stay mild. There is still some uncertainty as to how clement the weather will be at the weekend but it doesn’t look too bad, with the best chance of sunshine on Sunday.
There are now many open glaciers in the Alps, but high winds are likely to close many of the lifts mid-week, so always check with the local tourist office or lift company to avoid disappointment.
In Austria, all eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
Amazing snow cover for the time of year in Madonna di Campiglio, but the snow-line will creep up the mountain again over the next few days – 19 October 2020 – Photo: campigliobellavista.it
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza.
In France you can ski on the glaciers in Tignes and Les 2 Alpes, though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 2.30pm Sunday 18 October 2020 - Lots of sunshine at altitude…
It’s a glorious day at altitude in the Alps, with fabulous snow conditions on all of the open glaciers. After another lovely day tomorrow, the weather in the Alps will begin to change from the south-west on Tuesday.
Lots of snow at altitude in Saas-Fee – 18 October 2020 – Photo: saas-fee.ch
Although the weather will remain mostly fine on Tuesday, an increasingly strong southerly wind will start to affect all parts of the Alps, continuing through Wednesday and Thursday. Most areas will be dry, but it will be cloudy at times in the southern French, western and central Italian and far southern Swiss Alps with a few showers (snow 2200-2500m) here and there. A strong Foehn wind will also blow across the northern half of the Alps, quickly melting any low-lying snow.
If you are lucky enough to be in the Alps right now and have the option of skiing over the next few days, Monday will be your best day. From mid-week onwards high winds are likely to hamper many of the glacier operations and the snow quality will deteriorate somewhat.
Impressive early morning skies over the Stubai glacier – 18 October 2020 – Photo: facebook.com/StubaierGletscher
In Austria, all eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza.
In France you can ski on the glaciers in Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Updated: 6pm Saturday 17 October 2020 – France opens for skiing!
Today saw the start of the French ski season with the opening of the glaciers at both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes. Snow and weather conditions were excellent in both resorts, with largely clear skies and packed powder on-piste. The Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz also opened today, where snow conditions were also superb.
Superb weather and snow conditions for the opening day on the Grande Motte glacier above Tignes – 17 October 2020 – Photo: tignes.net
Elsewhere in the Alps, it was generally sunny across the central, western and southern Alps, with more in the way of cloud in the east, with a few residual showers/flurries in the northern and eastern Austrian Alps (snow 1000-1200m).
Sunday will see lots of sunshine across most of the Alps, with the very last of the showers/flurries dying out from the far northern and eastern Austrian Alps.
After another fine day on Monday, a southerly wind will start to pick up on Tuesday. While most areas will remain sunny, cloud will increase in the south-western Alps as the day progresses.
Mid-week will then see strong southerly winds across most of the Alps, with a violent Foehn in the north that will quickly melt any low-lying snow. The south-western Alps (i.e. the southern French and western Italian Alps) will see more in the way of cloud with some showers, bringing a little snow above 2200-2500m.
In Austria, all eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal. The Mölltal should be mostly sunny all day tomorrow, but the other Austrian glaciers may see a few early flurries, especially the Kitzsteinhorn glacier near Kaprun. The weather should gradually improve as the day progresses though.
Fabulous conditions on the Stubai glacier in Austria yesterday – Photo: facebook.com/Stubaiergletscher, 16 October 2020
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, where the weather is expected to be sunny this weekend. Cervinia is then scheduled to open on 24 October.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers in Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, Glacier 3000 and Diavolezza.
In France you can now ski on the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes though the latter will close again on 1 November.
Snow conditions are superb across the Alpine glaciers right now and will remain so for the next few days. However, strengthening southerly winds may hamper lift operations in some areas around the middle of next week, also hardening (scouring) some of the pistes, meaning that snow conditions will deteriorate to some extent over the course of the week.
Updated: 9.30am Friday 16 October 2020 – Exceptional snow conditions in the Alps for mid-October…
The weather in the Alps remains chilly for the time of year, with showers (snow 1200-1600m) continuing today across the north-eastern Alps (e.g. northern Tirol, Salzburgland). Most of the rest of the Alps will be dry though, with a mixture of cloud and sunny spells, the best of these being in the southern Alps.
Lots of snow in the southern Austrian Alps right now. This is Bad Kleinkirchheim – 16 October 2020 –Photo: foto-webcam.eu
Some showers or flurries will linger for a while tomorrow across the north-eastern Alps, but the sun will be out from the off further west, especially at altitude. The weather in the Alps should also improve further east as the day progresses, and Sunday should be fine everywhere.
After a quiet start to the week next week, a strong southerly wind will develop across the Alps as the week progresses, with some rain (or high level snow) in some southern parts of the Alps but a strong Foehn wind likely further north. This will lead to a partial deterioration of snow conditions across the Alps, with a rapid melting of any low-level snow in the north.
As to where you can currently ski in the Alps, skiing in France kicks off tomorrow with the opening of the glaciers in both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes. Opening day snow conditions will be better than we have seen for years, with sunny skies and perfectly groomed “packed powder” pistes expected in both resorts.
Elsewhere in the Alps, the Diavolezza glacier (south of St Moritz) will join the glaciers at Saas-Fee, Zermatt, Glacier 3000 and Engelberg as the skiing options in Switzerland when it opens to the public tomorrow, having already been open for race training for a few days. Some early cloud is possible in Engelberg and Diavolezza tomorrow, otherwise it should be mostly sunny with fine weather expected across the board by the end of the day.
Snow all the way down to resort level in Saas-Fee – 16 October 2020 – Photo: saas-fee.ch
In Austria, all eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal. The Mölltal should be mostly sunny all day tomorrow, but the other Austrian glaciers may see a few early flurries, especially the Kitzsteinhorn glacier near Kaprun. The weather should gradually improve as the day progresses though.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, where the weather is expected to be sunny this weekend. Cervinia is then scheduled to open on 24 October.
Very promising snow conditions in Cervinia ahead of its opening on 26 October 2020 - Photo: cervinia.it, 16 October 2020
Updated: 9am Thursday 15 October 2020 - More snow for some, heaviest in the east…
The weather in the Alps remains cold and unsettled today, with further snow expected in some regions, heaviest later in the day and in the eastern Alps.
Plenty of cloud is expected across the Austrian Alps today with showers or flurries spreading from the south. This is Hochkönig – 15 October 2020 – Photo: hochkoenig.at
Today’s snow is down to a small area of low pressure that will drift from the Gulf of Genoa into the Adriatic, throwing weather fronts northwards across its eastern flank into the south-eastern and eastern Alps. This storm will continue to influence the weather into tomorrow, by which time we could see between 10cm and 30cm above 2000m in some resorts in Austria (such as Hintertux and Obertauern) and perhaps also in the Dolomites (e.g. Madonna di Campiglio).
Elsewhere in the Alps snowfall will be more sporadic, favouring the southern and eastern Swiss Alps while the western and north-western Alps see the driest weather. The rain/snow limit will generally sit between 1200m and 1500m but will be a bit higher across the north-eastern Alps at first.
The weather in the Alps will remain cool over the weekend, with some showers or flurries (snow 1000-1400m) lingering across the northern Swiss and Austrian Alps for a time on Saturday. Most other parts of the Alps will be dry with sunny spells, with better weather expected across the board by Sunday.
All in all, snow conditions in the Alps are better than you would normally expect for mid-October, with good coverage across all the glaciers.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Glacier 3000 and Engelberg with Diavolezza (near St Moritz) scheduled to join them tomorrow.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
In France, both Tignes and Les 2 Alpes are set to open their glaciers this weekend. Les 2 Alpes will close again on 1 November, while Tignes is scheduled to stay open for the rest of the season.
Updated: 9.30am Wednesday 14 October 2020 – Remaining cool and changeable in the Alps…
After a few more centimetres of snow across some parts of the Alps last night, the weather in the Alps is quite mixed today with plenty of dry weather, but some areas of cloud and a few showers or flurries (snow 1500m) in places.
Still looking wintry in the Dolomites today. This is Kronplatz – 14 October 2020 – Photo: kronplatz.com
More significant precipitation is expected across some southern and eastern parts of the Alps tomorrow, with the eastern Austrian Alps set to benefit most, where resorts such as Obertauern could see 10-20cm of fresh snow. Snowfall totals elsewhere in the Alps will generally be much more modest, though the Dolomites may also see a moderate fall. The rain/snow limit will be relatively low, at between 1000m and 1500m.
Some showers or flurries will linger across parts of the Alps on Saturday, especially close to the northern foothills, while many parts of the Alps will remain dry and bright. Sunday should be fine across the board.
All in all, snow conditions in the Alps are better than you would normally expect for mid-October, with good coverage across all the glaciers.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Glacier 3000 and Engelberg with Diavolezza (near St Moritz) scheduled to join them this Saturday.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
Updated: 9am Tuesday 13 October 2020 - Cool and changeable weather in the Alps…
The weather in the Alps remains on the cool side, with plenty of dry and fine weather but also some showers or flurries in places.
Sunny skies and fresh snow across the Dolomites this morning. This is Arabba – 13 October 2020 – Photo: dolomitisuperski.com
Today there are a few showers (snow 1000m) across the eastern Austrian Alps otherwise most areas are starting the day dry, with the best of the sunshine across the southern Alps.
Later today cloud will thicken across the western Alps with some showers or flurries (snow 1200-1500m) this evening and overnight across parts of the French, western Swiss and far western Italian Alps. Snowfall totals will be modest though, with just a few centimetres of fresh snow at altitude in some favoured locations (e.g. Les 2 Alpes).
Wednesday will remain mostly cloudy across the western Alps, with a further scattering of mostly light showers or flurries (snow 1200-1500m). However, most of the Alps will be dry with sunny spells. Thursday will see more significant snow in the south-eastern Alps (e.g. Dolomites, Carinthia), with showers lingering across parts of Austria on Friday.
All in all, snow conditions in the Alps are better than you would normally expect for mid-October, with good coverage across all the glaciers. As the weather will be cool this week, conditions should also remain good for the time being.
However, it is looking increasingly likely that there will be a blast of warm southerly air next week which will quickly melt any lower-lying snow. High winds could also make skiing operations on the glaciers difficult. We will update you on this in due course.
In the meantime, skiing is possible in several areas across the Alps.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Glacier 3000 and Engelberg with Diavolezza (near St Moritz) scheduled to join them this Saturday.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
Updated: 9.30am Monday 12 October 2020 - Feeling rather wintry in the Alps…
It’s a wintry feeling day today in the Alps, with plenty of dry, fine weather but also a few flurries here and there, mostly across the north-eastern Alps (e.g. Salzburgland) where the rain/snow limit is around 1000m.
Wintry looking scenes across the southern Austrian Alps this morning. This is Lienz-Zettersfeld – 12 October 2020 – Photo: lienzer-bergbahnen.at
Yesterday saw significant snowfall across the eastern and south-eastern Alps, with 15-30cm of fresh snow at altitude in resorts such as Obertauern, Hintertux, Nassfeld, Madonna di Campiglio, Sella Ronda and the Alta Badia. Many other parts of the Alps saw at least a dusting over the weekend, but the French Alps, most of the Swiss Alps and the central and western Italian Alps missed the heaviest snowfalls this time around.
This week the weather in the Alps will remain on the cold side. Much of the Alps will be dry on Tuesday and Wednesday with some sunny spells, but skies will be cloudier in the western Alps (notably in France) with a few flurries (1200-1500m) at times. On Thursday a more significant spell of snow is expected across the Austrian and eastern Italian Alps, to relatively low levels.
Significant fresh snow in Obertauern – 12 October 2020 – Photo: obertauern.at
All in all, snow conditions in the Alps are better than you would normally expect for mid-October, with good coverage across all the glaciers. With the weather remaining cool this week, conditions should also remain good for the foreseeable future. It is too early to rely on any serious base be building below glacier level but above 2600m or so it is possible that, in places, some snow will now stick until winter on north-facing slopes.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Glacier 3000 and Engelberg with Diavolezza (near St Moritz) scheduled to join them this Saturday.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, with Cervinia scheduled to open on 24 October.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also now announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
Updated: 5pm Sunday 11 October 2020 – More snow, mostly for the eastern and south-eastern Alps…
As predicted on Friday, the weather in the Alps turned colder and more unsettled again this weekend, with further snow in places.
Heavy snow today in Obertauern – 11 October 2020 – Photo: obertauern.com
This change in the weather came courtesy of a cold front which crossed the Alps yesterday, firstly bringing showers to the northern Alps, with an initially high rain/snow limit, before spreading to the eastern and south-eastern Alps overnight, by which time the rain/snow limit dropped to between 1200m and 1600m.
Today, the heaviest of the precipitation has been concentrated in the eastern and south-eastern Alps, especially in the central and southern Austrian Alps (e.g. Hintertux, Obertauern, Nassfeld) and the eastern Italian Alps (Dolomites). These regions have seen up to 15-30cm of snow at altitude with a rain/snow limit as low as 1000m in places.
The weather in the Alps is set to remain cool and unsettled next week with further light or moderate snow at times. We will bring you further details tomorrow…
Updated: 11am Friday 9 October 2020 - Fine today but more snow for some this weekend…
It’s a beautiful day in the Alps today, with temperatures nudging 20°C in many of the lower valleys. It is change again tomorrow though, as cooler, more unstable air is set to invade from the north.
Fabulous snow conditions on the Stubai glacier today but the weather will turn more unsettled over the weekend – 9 October 2020 – Photo: www.facebook.com/schifahren.stubaiergletscher
Tomorrow’s change in the weather comes courtesy of a cold front that will bring showers to many areas during the course of the day, especially in the northern Alps, with a rain/snow limit dropping from 2300-2500m to 1400-1700m later. Snowfall totals will be modest though, with typically 5-15cm above 2000m in areas such as the Portes du Soleil, the Bernese Oberland, the Arlberg and the Salzburgland.
When this cold front reaches the relatively warm Mediterranean on Saturday night, a new storm will form, delivering more substantial snow to the eastern Alps on Sunday.
By the end of the weekend, the central and eastern Austrian Alps will have done best from this storm, with 20-30cm of new snow falling above 1800m in resorts such as Kaprun, Obertauern, Hintertux and Nassfeld. The Dolomites will also see a moderate snowfall on Sunday, but the French, Swiss, western Italian and far western Austrian Alps will only see a few scattered showers or flurries. The rain/snow level will be quite low on Sunday though, typically at between 900m and 1200m.
The weather in the Alps looks like it will then stay cool and unsettled into next week, with further snow in places. Watch this space!
Another glacier is scheduled to open tomorrow, the Titlis glacier above Engelberg. The Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz is set to follow on 17 October. Elsewhere in Switzerland you can already ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also now announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
Updated: 10.30am Thursday 8 October 2020 - Two fine days in the Alps before the weather turns colder and more unsettled over the weekend…
High pressure will dominate the Alps over the next couple of days, meaning lots of dry, fine and relatively mild weather. It will turn colder and more unsettled again this weekend, however, with further snow in places, albeit in more modest quantities than previously forecast.
Fine weather this morning in the French Alps. This is the ski area above Arc 2000, with Mont Blanc in the background – 8 October 2020 – Photo: lesarcs.com
Most of the precipitation will fall in the northern Alps on Saturday, with a rain/snow limit descending from 2300-2500m to around 1500m later in the day.
On Saturday night and Sunday the heaviest precipitation will transfer towards the eastern and south-eastern Alps (e.g. Osttirol, Carinthia, Dolomites) with a rain/snow limit dropping towards 1000m Snowfall totals will be modest on both Saturday and Sunday, with typically 5-10cm above 2000m and perhaps 20cm in a few favoured spots.
Snow conditions on the Alpine glaciers are currently excellent for early October and should remain good for the foreseeable future. If you are lucky enough to be in Alps at the moment and planning to ski this weekend, you should consider skiing tomorrow (Friday), not only as it will be the best weather day, but also as poor visibility and increased wind may hamper some skiing operations over the weekend.
That said, another glacier is scheduled to open on Saturday, the Titlis glacier above Engelberg. The Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz is set to follow on 17 October. Elsewhere in Switzerland you can already ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000.
In Austria, seven of its eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also now announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
Updated: 9.30am Wednesday 7 October 2020 - Snow conditions will be excellent on the glaciers once the weather improves…
Further snow has fallen across many higher parts of the Alps over the last 24 hours, with showers continuing for a while across the northern Alps today.
Plenty of snow at altitude in Saas-Fee where the glacier skiing will be superb once the weather clears up – 7 October 2020 – Photo: meteooberwallis.ch
Yesterday the rain/snow limit rose to around 2200-2500m before falling again to between 1600m and 1900m this morning. Over the last 24 hours, the highest snowfall totals have been in the north-western Alps, with another 15-25cm of snow having fallen above 2500m, including on the Grande Motte glacier above Tignes.
Showers (snow 1500-1800m) will die away from the north-western Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil) today but will continue in the central northern and north-eastern Alps (e.g. Arlberg) where a few more centimetres are expected above 1800m or so. The southern Alps will be mostly dry with some sunny breaks.
The weather in the Alps will then be largely fine on Thursday and Friday – indeed temperatures could reach 20°C in some of the lower valleys by the end of the week – before winter returns to the Alps over the weekend. So, if you are lucky enough to be in the Alps this week and thinking about skiing, Thursday and Friday are going to be the best days.
On Saturday, a cold front will sweep Arctic air across the Alps from the north, bringing snow showers to increasingly low altitude as the weekend progresses (1000m or lower on Sunday). Many parts of the Alps will see some new snow, with the heaviest falls due in the north and north-west (e.g. Portes du Soleil, Bernese Oberland, Arlberg). It will probably then stay cold and unsettled into the first part of next week.
Weather-permitting, there is currently a lot of glacier skiing available in the Alps. Seven of Austria’s eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000. The Titlis glacier above Engelberg will then open for skiing on 10 October, followed by the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz a week later, on 17 October.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, although Tignes is set to open its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October. Thanks to the recent snow, Les 2 Alpes has also now announced that it will open its glacier from 17 October to 1 November.
All things considered, snow conditions on the glaciers are now very good for the time of year and, with further snow forecast over the weekend, should remain good for the foreseeable future.
Updated: 10.30am Tuesday 6 October 2020 - Further snowfalls for some at altitude…
The weather in the Alps remains changeable, with further showers or longer spells of rain/snow at times, crossing the region from the west both today and tonight.
Further snowfalls at altitude for some parts of the Alps. This is La Clusaz – 6 October 2020 – Photo: facebook.com/LaClusaz
The rain/snow limit will rise to between 2200m and 2500m today before falling to 1700m or so again later tonight. The heaviest snow will fall at altitude across the north-western Alps, with 25cm+ above 2500m in some favoured spots such as on the Grand Motte glacier above Tignes or at Glacier 3000m near Les Diablerets.
After some early showers (snow 1500m) on Wednesday across the northern Alps, the weather will improve from the west later in the day, with Thursday promising to be mostly fine right across the Alps. The weather will turn more unsettled again by the weekend, however, with some further snow to increasingly low levels.
Weather-permitting, there is currently a lot of glacier skiing available in the Alps. Seven of Austria’s eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Switzerland you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000. The Titlis glacier above Engelberg will then open for skiing on 10 October, followed by the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz a week later, on 17 October.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, with Tignes set to be the first option with the opening of its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October.
All things considered, snow conditions on the glaciers are good for the time of year and, with further top-ups due over the coming days, should remain favourable for the foreseeable future.
Updated: 10am Monday 5 October 2020 - Remaining unsettled in the Alps…
The weather in the Alps remains unsettled with further weak to moderate weather fronts moving in from the west over the next few days. These will bring a bit more snow to some parts of the Alps this week, mostly in the west (i.e French Alps, Swiss Alps), heaviest on Tuesday evening, but there will also be some drier brighter interludes, especially on Thursday.
Lots of snow high up in the Monte Rosa region – 5 October 2020 - Photo: visitmonterosa.it
The rain/snow limit will vary between 1500m and 2400m over the next few days, with an additional 20cm of new snow possible at altitude by the middle of the week in some favoured spots (such as on the Grande Motte Glacier above Tignes).
Weather-permitting there is currently a lot of glacier skiing available in the Alps. Seven of Austria’s eight glacier areas are now open, with skiing therefore possible in Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, and Mölltal.
In Switzerland you can ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000.
In Italy you can ski on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio and Val Senales.
There is currently no lift-served skiing in France, with Tignes set to be the first option with the opening of its Grande Motte glacier on 17 October.
Snow conditions are currently good on all these glaciers, with the greatest quantities of fresh snow on the glaciers in Switzerland and Italy.
Updated: 10.45am Sunday 4 October 2020 - Big storm eases but the weather remains unsettled in the Alps…
As forecast, there have been a very wild couple of days of weather in the Alps, with a mixture of torrential rain, high winds and some significant snow in places.
Lots of fresh but windblown snow in the Saas-Fee area right now – 4 October 2020 - Photo: saas-fee.ch
As forecast, there have been a very wild couple of days of weather in the Alps, with a mixture of torrential rain, high winds and some significant snow in places.
The southern Alps have born the brunt of the bad weather, with some serious flooding in parts of the Alpes Maritimes (close to Nice), and the Ligurian Alps and northern Piedmont (across the border in Italy). Some of these regions have seen more than 400mm of rain in the last 24 hours, equating to about 70% of London’s annual rainfall!
Many southern and western parts of the Alps have seen some significant snowfall at high altitude, with almost 1m of new (windblown) snow on the glaciers of Zermatt and Saas-Fee. On Friday the rain/snow limit was around 3000m, before lowering to between 1200m and 1500m across the western Alps on Saturday, remaining a bit higher further east.
Many other parts of the Alps have also seen a least a bit of snow over the last couple of days. However, with a violent Foehn blowing across the northern (and especially north-eastern) Alps, these regions (e.g. northern Tirol, northern Salzburgland) have generally seen higher temperatures and little precipitation.
Still looking summery in the lower valleys of the north-eastern Alps, where the warm Foehn wind has been blowing. This is near Seefeld in the northern Tirol – 4 October 2020 – Photo: seefeld.com
Both today, and over the next few days, the weather in the Alps will remain unsettled with further showers at times and a bit more snow above 1800-2000m, but not in any great quantity.
Weather-permitting you can currently ski on the glaciers at Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Glacier 3000 in Switzerland, Passo Stelvio and Val Senales in Italy, and Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaunertal, Pitztal , Mölltal and, as of today Kaprun (Kitzsteinhorn) in Austria.
There is no lift-served skiing in France until 17 October when Tignes is scheduled to open. The best snow conditions are likely to be in Switzerland and Italy, once the weather settles down.
Fresh snow on the Grand Motte glacier above Tignes, which plans to open for skiing on 17 October 2020 – Photo: tignes.net, 4 October 2020
Updated: 10.30am Friday 2 October 2020 - Batten down the hatches!
The Alps have entered a very stormy period of weather as storm ‘Alex’ approaches from the west. A lot of rain is expected across the southern and western Alps over the next few days, with some snow initialling only falling at high altitude, but lowering considerably during course of the weekend. It will also be very windy everywhere, and dangerously windy in places on Friday and Saturday with a serious Foehn blowing across the northern Alps.
Looking stormy in Val d’Isère this morning – 2 October 2020 – Photo: valdisere.com
Rain or showers will become widespread today across the southern French Alps (e.g. Serre Chevalier), the central and western Italian Alps (e.g. Monte Rosa, Madesimo), and areas close to the Swiss-Italian border (e.g. Saas-Fee), with flood warnings and the risk of landslide in some south-western Alpine regions.
The northern Alps will be drier thanks to protection from the Foehn, although there will still be some showers in parts of the northern French (e.g. Val d’Isère) and the western Swiss Alps (e.g. Verbier), especially later today. It will be very windy everywhere though, with a violent Foehn in the northern and north-eastern Alps (e.g. Salzburgland).
The rain/snow limit on Friday will be high, typically between 2500m and 3000m, and briefly above 3000m in places this evening. On Saturday it will continue to rain/snow intensively across many southern Alpine regions, with showers also becoming more widespread across the western Alps, which will then move slowly eastwards. The north-eastern Alps will remain dry and very Foehny, however.
On Saturday, the rain/snow limit will descend to between 1500m and 1900m in the west later in the day. The weather will then remain unsettled on Sunday and Monday with further showers in places (snow 1600-1900m) again mostly in the south and west.
Looking at the ski areas that are currently open, the glaciers of Zermatt and Saas-Fee are set to see the most snow from this storm, with 1m or so of new snow possible above 3000m by the end of the weekend. Val Senales and Passo Stelvio will also see some significant new snow but the Austrian glaciers will see less due to the Foehn.
Updated: 10am Thursday 1 October 2020 - Rain, snow and Foehn!
After a mostly fine day yesterday, the weather in the Alps is on the turn again as a new storm approaches from the west. This storm will bring huge quantities of rain (and snow at high altitude) to many southern and especially south-western parts of the Alps over the next few days. By contrast, a strong Foehn wind will bring warm and mostly dry weather to the northern and especially north-eastern Alps (e.g. Salzburgland, Tirol).
Forecast accumulated (high altitude) snow between now and Sunday 4 October 2020, showing that high border areas between Italy and Switzerland will be most favoured – Image: WXcharts.com, 1 October 2020
Thursday will be mostly dry across the Alps although cloud will increase in the west, with some showers in parts of the French, southern and western Swiss and central/western Italian Alps later (rain/snow limit around 2500m).
Friday will see more widespread precipitation across the southern and western Alps, heaviest close to the Italian/Swiss border to the east of Zermatt. The rain/snow limit will sit between 2500m and 3000m, lowering markedly on Friday night. A strong Foehn wind will bring drier, warmer but very gusty conditions to the northern Alps, especially across the north-eastern Alps (e.g. Salzburgland).
Saturday will see further rain or snow at times across many southern and western parts of the Alps, though there will be a drier interlude in the middle of the day. In the western Alps the rain/snow limit will lower to 1500m or so, while temperatures could reach the mid-20°Cs in the lower valleys of the northern Salzburgland and Bavaria as the Foehn continues to blow across the north-eastern Alps.
The weather will continue to be unsettled on Sunday, with the most frequent showers again in the south and west.
Over the next few days, we are going to see a lot of snow at high altitude across many southern and western parts of the Alps but also some potentially dangerous quantities of rain in places. Indeed, multiple weather warnings have been issued for flooding, mostly concerning the western Italian Alps, especially the Piedmont, the far southern Swiss Alps, the south-eastern Valais and southern Ticino.
At greatest risk is the area close the Swiss-Italian border to the east of Zermatt/Cervinia towards the lakes via the Simplon region, where as much as 400mm of rain could fall by Saturday night - around 2/3 of London’s total annual rainfall!
Needless to say, some of the glaciers are going to see significant snowfall over the coming days, with Zermatt and Saas-Fee (of the areas already open) probably most favoured with at least 75cm of new snow at high altitude, possibly even more. Val Senales and Passo Stelvio should also do quite well, though most of the Austrian glaciers will see much less snow this time around due to the Foehn.
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