[b]Overview[/b]

[url="http://www.snow-forecast.com/overviews/tips_full"]http://www.snow-fore...views/tips_full[/url]

There were some snowfalls at the start of the week, and together with the sunshine of recent days, this has led to some great skiing conditions over the past few days. This fine weather should continue tomorrow but turning much milder next week with a thaw, but good skiing conditions are expected in any sunshine , best conditions as ever in these conditions in the morning.

[b]Synoptic Charts [/b]

[attachment=157784:25 Jan Actual.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri","sans-serif]Sat 26 Jan [/font][/b]

Saturday shows a rather unsettled picture, there is a low pressure over the Atlantic, with an unusually low pressure system in the Atlantic, one of the dartboard style lows, oft forecast by GFS at T+168 but this time finally likely. In between this and an Azores High, there is a South Westerly flow over the UK, with mild air set to follow. Low pressure to the North of the UK, the only notable High Pressure over Russia, and this is edging away, but this does give a final cold day over the Alps, with NE on it southern flank.

[attachment=157783:26 Jan.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri","sans-serif]Sun 27 Jan [/font][/b]

Sunday shows a very similar pattern but everything has moved a bit Eastwards, the dartboard low now to the NW of Scotland and has weakened to 944mb. A mild west to South West flow over Western Europe, with a Tropical Maritime air mass still cold over very cold the further North and East you go into Europe.

[attachment=157779:27 Jan.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri","sans-serif]Monday 28 Jan[/font][/b]

Again the pattern has moved east, still very unsettled looking over the Atlantic, and the Azores High has ridged into a near Bartlett position. The colder ait has moved further into the recesses of North East Europe generally cool over Europe apart from this, however looking to turn much milder though from the Southwest, this edging into the UK later in the day.

[attachment=157778:28 Jan.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri","sans-serif]Tuesday 29 Jan to Thursday 31 Jan[/font][/b]

Tuesday – Thursday shows a similar synoptic pattern to Monday, but as expected turning increasingly mild over much of Western and North western mainland Europe, including the Alps, more especially over the western Alps. However more especially towards Thursday the flow becomes more westerly across the North West of Europe feeding in less mild conditions at times.

[attachment=157777:29 Jan.JPG] [attachment=157766:30 Jan.JPG] [attachment=157765:31 Jan.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri","sans-serif]Friday 1 Feb[/font][/b]

Friday still looks generally unsettled, however there is a bit more ridging in the pattern and with a surface Greenland high perhaps a brief period of cooler weather for some parts of the UK. Still a lot of high pressure over southern latitudes. With South West or much of mainland Europe, still very mild in western areas of mainly Europe including the Alps, but cooler the further east you go.

[attachment=157764:1 Feb.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Alps Summary [/size][/font][/b]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Turning much milder next week, with the chance of the Foehn effect making a return in conjunction with mild South Westerly winds. [/size][/font]

[size=3][b]Alps Detail [/b][/size]

[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Sat 26 Jan [/size][/font][/b]
[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]A dry start to the weekend, with bitterly cold weather with Freezing levels widely down to sea level, across the alpine region for Saturday morning. Saturday daytime is also mostly dry, the odd light shower just about possible, Freezing levels highest in a swathe through the French Alps, Southern Switzerland, parts of Northern and NW Italy and SW Austria, around 1000-1400m. Cooler elsewhere, 400m Northern Switzerland, 200-800 for Southern Germany and close to sea level NE Austria. [/size][/font]

[attachment=157752:26 Jan Alps.JPG]
[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Sunday 27 Jan [/size][/font][/b]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Another cold dry night over the Alps with Freezing levels, widely 0-300m. A dry start for all parts on Sunday, staying that way in many Eastern areas however a band of rain edging in from the west, this making slow progress over Western Germany, France and much of Switzerland by midnight. Snow Levels, around 700m in places, but 1200m in many places. [/size][/font]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Maximum Freezing levels (noon) milder than recently, more especially in western areas, France 2100-2400m, Switzerland 2100-2400m mostly, a small area east of Zermatt 1200m. Austria, 2400m in West, but steadily less mild further east, closer to 0m in eastern Austria, a similar pattern in Italy 2400m in west, 900m in East. [/size][/font]

[attachment=157751:27 Jan Alps.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Monday 28 Jan[/size][/font][/b]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]The overnight precipitation making quicker progress on Monday, moving SE steadily through the morning and afternoon and clearing Eastern parts of the Alps by around 3pm, moving into Slovenia and Croatia by evening. Around 12 hrs of precipitation in western areas, close to 6 hours in the East. [/size][/font]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Maximum Freezing levels (noon) back closer to Saturday’s levels generally again highest in a swathe through the French Alps, Southern Switzerland, parts of Northern and NW Italy and SW Austria, around 1200-1600m. Cooler elsewhere, 800m-1000m generally elsewhere 400m in the Far East of Austria.[/size][/font]

[attachment=157750:28 Jan Alps.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Tuesday 29 Jan[/size][/font][/b]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]A dry start over the Alps again, and most place staying that way, at this stage a front is set to move eastwards over Germany and NE Austria, but probably missing the Alps at this stage. [/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman","serif][size=3]After a cold start, temperatures very much on the milder side during the day. Freezing levels 2100m-2400m for the French Alps, Switzerland and most of Italy and Austria. However closer to 1200m on the Italy Slovenia border and 1400-1800m more generally for NE Austria. Not for the first time, in a South Westerly is the coldest air over NE Austria. [/size][/font]

[attachment=157749:29 Jan Alps.JPG]

[b][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Wednesday 30 Jan into Friday 1 Feb[/size][/font][/b]

[font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]Looking mild or very mild over the Alps for these three days, with freezing levels over 3500m in the far southern parts of the Alps at times. At times fronts may attempt to push south over the Alps introducing precipitation and some less mild air, but for the most part staying dry and mild over southern areas. [/size][/font][font=Calibri , sans-serif","serif][size=3]So for southern area, dry and mild with freezing levels 2500-3500m Further north, perhaps dropping to around 1500m as front push through, given chances of snow to moderate levels, but generally freeing levels of 2000-2500m even here. [/size][/font]

[attachment=157748:30 Jan Alps.JPG]
[attachment=157747:31 Jan Alps.JPG]
[attachment=157746:1 Feb Alps.JPG]