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Today in the Alps - September to October 2024
Read about current weather and snow conditions in the Alps
Updated: 11am Friday 4 October 2024 - Heavy snow returns to the Alps!
Heavy snow has returned to many higher Alpine areas, with the glaciers now in much better shape for early October than we have seen for quite some time.
Another significant snowfall across many parts of the Alps. This is Falkertsee in the southern Austrian Alps – Photo: foto-webcam.eu, 4 October 2024
In terms of what this means for how the main Alpine season will pan out, this is significant for the glaciers, as the recent fall is one of several major snowfalls to hit the high Alps in the last few weeks, including the record-breaking September dump in the eastern Alps just three weeks ago. However, at lower altitudes, it is still far too early for any of the snow to stick around.
Today will see further snow to quite low levels across the eastern Alps, before the weather turns milder over the next few days, when most of the lower-lying fresh snow will disappear again. The weather may be unsettled, with some rain likely to 3200m or so later in the weekend and early next week.
All in all, though, there is a lot of snow across the Alpine glaciers for the time of year so if you are lucky enough to catch some decent weather, there should be plenty of good skiing on offer in those resorts that are open. Weather-permitting, these are:
- In Austria: Kaprun (from tomorrow), Hintertux, Stubai, Pitztal and Kaunertal
- In Switzerland: Zermatt and Saas-Fee
- In Italy: Cervinia (on the Swiss side in Zermatt), Passo Stelvio and Val Senales
Unfortunately, there are no autumn ski operations in France these days.
Updated: 2pm Tuesday 17 September 2024 - The big storm in the Alps is now over…
The historic storm that has been battering central Europe since the middle of last week is now over. While the far east of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and southern Poland saw record-breaking rainfall and serious flooding in places, some eastern parts of the Alps were witness to the biggest September snowfalls in living memory.
Looking decidedly wintry on the Zugspitze glacier on the German-Austrian border – 17 September 2024 – Photo: foto-webcam.eu
Higher parts of the central and eastern Austrian Alps (e.g. Dachstein glacier, Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Obertauern) have seen 1.5m to 2m of snow in the last few days, with perhaps close to 2.5m in some favoured spots like the Höhe Tauern, though in most cases this snow has been very wind-blown and therefore difficult to measure.
Quantities aside, another striking feature of this storm is just how low the snowline descended to, with accumulations to below 1000m in places (albeit very temporarily).
Evidence of significant snow to relatively low levels in the Hochkönig region – 17 September 2024 –Photo: foto-webcam.eu
As mentioned in our last summary, all this early snow sadly doesn’t mean very much in terms of the coming season, as most of it will disappear again over the coming days. However, it is great news for many of the glaciers, especially those in Austria, which can now look forward to excellent autumn snow conditions.
We will have more on what’s open and what is opening soon in our next round-up later in the week…
Updated: 12pm Friday 13 September 2024 – Potentially unprecedented September snowfall for parts of the Alps…
Winter has arrived early in the Alps, bringing serious quantities of snow in places this week, and potentially ‘record-breaking’ falls for September in the east.
Heavy snow to low altitudes in the Austrian Alps this morning, with more in the forecast. This is Lech – 13 September 2024 – Photo: lech-zuers.com
This comes courtesy of a surge of cold polar air interacting with a very warm Mediterranean sea, spawning a powerful storm that is now drifting northwards and will continue to affect the eastern Alps well into the weekend.
Although occasional (mostly) high-altitude snowfalls are nothing unusual in September, this degree of storm is not something we have seen this early for many years and it will probably end up dumping record snowfalls (for the time of year) across some parts of Austria.
Some higher parts of Austria have indeed already seen over 1m of new snow, with lots more to come over the next few days. The rain/snow limit has also become a significant talking point, falling to well below 1000m in the northern Austrian Alps. Many other Alpine regions have also seen significant snow at altitude, but it is mostly in Austria where the early winter onslaught appears unusually severe.
So, what does this all mean for the coming season? Well sadly not much for most resorts, as it is simply way too early for most of the snow to stick. For those resorts with glaciers, though, it is excellent news, especially those in Austria like Hintertux, where conditions should be stellar once the weather clears up.
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