FORECAST FRIDAY: EXTREME AMOUNTS OF SNOW IN THE ALPS
Today a relatively dry period comes to an end. From the west snow will start to fall until Monday! Especially in Carinthia and South Tyrol large amounts of snow and rain are expected. This is good news for winter lovers, but this severe weather will also lead to dangerous situations. Together with strong winds in the mountains, it won’t feel pleasant to be there. From Tuesday, it will mostly be dry.
Today it starts snowing in the French Alps. In the course of today, the zone of snowfall expands to Switzerland, northern Italy, and the west of Austria. At most places, the snow line drops to 500-1000 meters in height. The area of Lago Maggiore will receive the most snow with locally 70 centimeters. Next to that, there will strong foehn winds on the mountain tops. These could reach wind speeds of more than 100 km/hour.
On the weekend, only a few centimeters of snow will fall in the French Alps and Western Switzerland. However, in Southern Tyrol and Austria, most snow still has to arrive. Until Monday, more than a meter of fresh snow will fall in many parts of the southern Alps above 1500-2000 meters height. Locally, even 4 meters of snow could not be excluded. In the lowlands, the precipitation will mostly fall as rain. Locally 300 millimeters is possible in the northeast of Italy. This is very much compared to the yearly average of 800-1000 millimeters.
Cumulative snowfall in the Alps till Monday.
Because of these severe circumstances, weather alarms will be in force from Saturday in Southern Tyrol. Considerable damage is possible because of avalanches, landslides, and floods. On the other hand, the first largest dump of snow of the winter so far is very welcome to many winter lovers. Even though winter sports are not possible at the moment, the webcams could still be enjoyed!
Calmer weather next week
From Tuesday the weather will be calmer. It will mostly be dry and the wind decreases. With a bit of sunshine, it is nice to go outside and enjoy the snow. The freezing level varies around 500-1000 meters, so the snow will not melt very quickly. In the second half of next week, more snow might fall again.