The Alps Snow Thread - Season 2014/2015

[Nights King]

Hi NK. Lower resorts such as Niederau are really suffering at the moment. But don't give up hope for conditions changing before your trip on 3rd Jan. It only takes one good fall of snow and a resort can be transformed. If you've been watching the Mod Thread you have probably noticed that good charts keep appearing (and disappearing!) so there is still time. Take a look at this evening's GFS(P) 12z run for the 28th Dec. Lovely! That would transform the Alps!

 

GFS 28Dec14 gfs-0-198.png

 

Making a call on Borovets weather going forward is a tough call! The only pointers I can give you are firstly that on the 'reviews' page of the Ski Club of GB, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts all moan about lack of snow (but two were from last winter, so maybe unfair as that was a stinker?). http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/skiresorts/resortreviews.aspx/Borovets#.VJXLEVAN8Bg

 

And secondly the snow record for Borovets suggest that Feb would be the best bet for a trip there: Borovets snow record.jpg

Chart from igluski.com http://www.igluski.com/bulgaria/borovets-snow-history_23499

 

Thanks for spending some time on the reply. Yes i'd rather go to Nederau as I love the resort and not been there for a few years so I shall hold on for a few more days and hope I see last min snow falls. 

 

Borrovets I have been to before a while ago and apart from slightly dated equipment it was a great value holiday with a fairly good snow although last year was its worst in 50 years I heard. However they don't have much currently this year either.

 

I shall keep checking austria and hope for the best for next week before i make any rash decisions.

[J10]

One thing I omitted in the blog, was that clear skies are meaning temps dropping like a stone overnight and this should enable overnight snow cannon operation despite the mild daytime weather.

 

With reference to Niederau, I have been able to fine webcams at nearby Wildschonau (with thanks to Malcolm's link earlier in the thread)

 

http://www.bergfex.com/wildschoenau/webcams/c1684/?archive=2

 

Looking pretty green there at the moment at resort level, but decent snow cover at 1850m. A picture mirrored to a certain extent across most of the Alps.

Edited December 21, 2014 by J10

[chionomaniac]

Just to say that I am in Morzine - I arrived yesterday and drove through Les Gets. Most of the recent snowfall at Les Gets was melting though it has been cold today.

 

There is no snow in Morzine and our group have had all our ski lessons cancelled. However, we high tailed it up to Avoriaz and were able to rebook. The temperature was -5ºC at before 10am this morning and the snow cannons were on. So snow conditions were better up here than reported back home though freeze/thaw conditions  (+10ºC 850 isotherm!) are likely the next couple of days before further snow possible Xmas day.

 

I think that we were very lucky getting the weekly ski passes for our group - it was probably because we chose to drive up there early before the rush.

 

[BLAST FROM THE PAST]

Ed

If you get snow on Xmas Day that will be a nice treat and somewhat enhance the Christmassy feel.  If those temps were in later winter it wouldn't be an issue as the snowbase would be there as was the case when I was in Les Deux Alpes in March 2000, record warmth and resort temps of 15c and Glacier temp of -1c!!!.....anyway you are skiing so all is not lost...enjoy.....and 90% at least of NW want your forecast to 'win out'.

 

BFTP

[chionomaniac]

Ed

If you get snow on Xmas Day that will be a nice treat and somewhat enhance the Christmassy feel.  If those temps were in later winter it wouldn't be an issue as the snowbase would be there as was the case when I was in Les Deux Alpes in March 2000, record warmth and resort temps of 15c and Glacier temp of -1c!!!.....anyway you are skiing so all is not lost...enjoy.....and 90% at least of NW want your forecast to 'win out'.

 

BFTP

Cheers Fred. I don't actually ski after suffering a knee injury 5 years ago, but it is great for all the rest of the family to be able to get out there.

 

Hopefully will get that Christmas snow!. Loved it up in Avoriaz earlier!

[J10]

Just to say that I am in Morzine - I arrived yesterday and drove through Les Gets. Most of the recent snowfall at Les Gets was melting though it has been cold today.

 

There is no snow in Morzine and our group have had all our ski lessons cancelled. However, we high tailed it up to Avoriaz and were able to rebook. The temperature was -5ºC at before 10am this morning and the snow cannons were on. So snow conditions were better up here than reported back home though freeze/thaw conditions  (+10ºC 850 isotherm!) are likely the next couple of days before further snow possible Xmas day.

 

I think that we were very lucky getting the weekly ski passes for our group - it was probably because we chose to drive up there early before the rush.

 

photo-1.JPG

photo.JPG

 

Very pretty scenes, I always have a soft spot for Avoriaz, after my past visits. Truly magical winter wonderland in the right conditions.

 

I was looking at the Webcams for Morzine and cannot believe how green it is. http://www.bergfex.com/morzine/webcams/c3222/

Edited December 21, 2014 by J10

[BLAST FROM THE PAST]

Cheers Fred. I don't actually ski after suffering a knee injury 5 years ago, but it is great for all the rest of the family to be able to get out there.

 

Hopefully will get that Christmas snow!. Loved it up in Avoriaz earlier!

Crikey, must have been a nasty one then.  That's sold, it reads such a nice place too as well as looking great so its on my ski list.

 

regards

 

Fred

[J10]

Just looking on Meto website, and you can clear skies over the Alps, and the outline of the current snow cover.

[Duane S.]

Appreciate the updates Chiono, I heard Alvoriaz is expecting to have to restrict passes due to it being that much higher up and everybody literally running to the hills from the lower reaches of the Portes Du Soleil to get their fix on the Xmas break week! I would imagine it could get pretty busy up there Xmas time!

 

Latest forecast (based on the 06z GFS) had over 50cm forecast for Les Gets for the 27th / 28th, would be very nice!

[Blessed Weather]

This evening's model output seems to have upgraded the snow prospects for the Alps over the Christmas period. If the charts verify it would be a wonderful Christmas present for everyone over there! Here's the 850hPa charts for Boxing Day from the ECM and GFS (P) which are very similar (although the ECM is better as the 850hPa temps are lower which may improve snowfall at lower levels):

 

ECM    GFS (P)

 

A cold front moves into the Alps in the early hours of Christmas Day, but temps are too high at this stage for snow except on higher slopes:

 

Precipitation at 13.00 hours 25 Dec   Temps at same time

 

However, by 19.00 hours the temps have fallen and precipitation should now be falling as snow to lower levels:

 

Precipitation at 19.00 hours 25 Dec   Temps at same time

 

And by the early hours of Boxing Day temps have plummeted as the cold air digs in, and with freezing levels down to around 300 metres snowfall is down to resort level. Unfortunately the precipitation starts to fizzle out as Boxing Day progresses, but a very welcome transformation from green to white at lower levels. Hopefully at 4 days away the models won't back down from this one! I'll be checking the Euro4 model output as we get within range.

 

Precipitation at 01.00 hours 26 Dec   Temps at same time

[frozencanals]

Evening all,

We are in Salzburg now, no snow down here but had a lovely chilly but sunny day at the Christmas Markets. Snow is expected here on Christmas Day down to about 600m, below that it will mostly be rain. If we want skiing at the moment we are going to have to travel, but hopefully after Thursday we will be able to ski a bit closer to Saltzburg. I will give another update later in the week.

Temps indeed falling rapidly under clear skies, it was below freezing at 18:30 this evening.

Happy Christmas one and all...

FC

Edited December 23, 2014 by frozencanals

[Oakland_Dan]

Hello and Merry Christmas to all from California!  Has anyone been up to Sankt Anton area yet, and if so how were the conditions?  I will be heading that way in February with much excitement as I have never skied outside of the US.  The last couple of years in Tahoe have been rough and we know how tough a slow start to the season is- fortunately we are off to a better start this year.  Due mainly to the lack of snow I got really interested in learning more about weather forecasts- if any of you are headed to Tahoe check out www.opensnow.com they post a great snow report and forecast almost on a daily basis, and it seems like this is a great spot to find that information for the Alps (I am not affiliated with them in anyway- just a great source of information).

 

One question I did have- which region of the Alps is Sankt Anton in?  

 

Thanks, and wishing everyone a merry Christmas/Happy Holiday/safe travels to where ever you are going, and most importantly - LOTS of SNOW!

[frozencanals]

Morning all,

You all may know this already, but I have just discovered you can get the 3sat live stream of ski resort webcams on your computer for the latest snow conditions in Austria, and it gives the snow starved a second hand snow fix.

Merry Christmas all

FC

[Blessed Weather]

Hello and Merry Christmas to all from California!  Has anyone been up to Sankt Anton area yet, and if so how were the conditions?  I will be heading that way in February with much excitement as I have never skied outside of the US.  The last couple of years in Tahoe have been rough and we know how tough a slow start to the season is- fortunately we are off to a better start this year.  Due mainly to the lack of snow I got really interested in learning more about weather forecasts- if any of you are headed to Tahoe check out www.opensnow.com they post a great snow report and forecast almost on a daily basis, and it seems like this is a great spot to find that information for the Alps (I am not affiliated with them in anyway- just a great source of information).

 

One question I did have- which region of the Alps is Sankt Anton in?  

 

Thanks, and wishing everyone a merry Christmas/Happy Holiday/safe travels to where ever you are going, and most importantly - LOTS of SNOW!

 

Hi Oakland_Dan. A very warm welcome to the Alps Snow Thread on Netweather. You will thoroughly enjoy your trip to St. Anton in February. The skiing is fantastic with lots of variety and some very challenging runs too (indeed, St. Anton has a reputation of offering more challenging pistes than many resorts in the Alps). The après ski in St. Anton is legendary so make sure you check out the Mooserwirt and Krazy Kanguruh (the fun starts at 3.00pm in the afternoon!).

St. Anton is in the Arlberg district which is itself located within the wider ski area known as the Tyrol.

 

Thanks for your link - I'll check that out when I get a moment. You might want to keep an eye on the webcams for St. Anton using the link below. A slow start to snow conditions so far, but the weather charts for this coming weekend suggest the Alps will be finally getting some decent snow to lower levels.

http://www.bergfex.com/stanton-stchristoph/webcams/

[Blessed Weather]

Well it's Christmas Eve and I'm travelling off to my daughter's for the holiday, so could I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas!

 

The models have kept their promise of some snow for the Alps over the Christmas period. It won't be a lot, but I'm sure some snow falling from the skies will help raise the Christmas spirits of everyone over there.

 

12.00 25th  18.00 25th mid-night

[Ali1977]

27/28th there will be a big dump over much of the alps, many French resort will get over 50 cm with extremely cold temps also. Transformation coming.

[J10]

Merry Christmas to everyone on this thread.

 

It does now look as if much colder and snowy weather is set to hit the Alps. If current models are correct 25-50cm possible for many parts of the Alps. This charts shows the projected snowfall for days 4-6.

 

Source. http://www.snow-forecast.com/maps/dynamic/alps?type=snow.next3to6days&&over=none&&symbols=snow

This is the 850HPa  and the Freezing level line for the next week for the Alps.

 

Today and Christmas Day

 

Friday and Saturday

 

Sunday and Monday

 

Tuesday and Wednesday

 

Dropping from over 2000m to sea level by next week.

 

Of course things can and will change especially the detail but the pattern of cold and snowy looks quite likely, as we can be at this far out.

 

The next blog will be  on Saturday, and this will compare to see if the current theme for the weekend and next week still holds true.

Edited December 24, 2014 by J10

[frozencanals]

Evening all

Thanks for the update J10, its getting much colder in Salzburg now, we found lying snow from about 1600m today, not much was ski-able under 2000m. Hope that the promised snow fall begins tomorrow afternoon to give us a couple of days of good skiing before heading back to NW Europe on Sunday.

Merry Christmas all from Salzburg.

FC

[knocker]

Cold, snowy next 10-days over most of Europe ... 1040 mb high pressure & cut-off low

Chart courtesy weatherbell

 

Edited December 25, 2014 by knocker

[frozencanals]

Morning all

A much better day in the Austrian Alps today, snow falling down to much lower levels, we have a covering in Salzburg and it is set to snow for the whole day. Went skiing at Zell Am Zee yesterday there was lots of snow on the top but there was no way you could ski down to the base stations so this snow is desperately needed by resorts below 2000m. Off to enjoy some more skiing now

Enjoy boxing day everyone

FC

[Blessed Weather]

Morning all

A much better day in the Austrian Alps today, snow falling down to much lower levels, we have a covering in Salzburg and it is set to snow for the whole day. Went skiing at Zell Am Zee yesterday there was lots of snow on the top but there was no way you could ski down to the base stations so this snow is desperately needed by resorts below 2000m. Off to enjoy some more skiing now

Enjoy boxing day everyone

FC

 

Great to hear the conditions have improved for you FC. Sounds like you are managing to have a very enjoyable week over there and actually seeing the white stuff fall too! Good call skiing at Zell as there's some lovely runs at the top and I suspect less crowds than up on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. I had to take a look at the webcam this morning and Zell looks beautiful across the lake: 

 

[Blessed Weather]

Cold, snowy next 10-days over most of Europe ... 1040 mb high pressure & cut-off low

Chart courtesy weatherbell

 

Hi knocker. Yes, a very welcome week's weather coming up for the Alps. Lots of snow around and very cold temperatures which will transform the situation for an awful lot of resorts. Shame it wasn't a week earlier so everyone over there for Christmas could have enjoyed better conditions.

And it's very good news for those of us going over in early January - me (Feldberg, Germany), Nights King (Niederau, Austria) and Ali1977 (La Plagne, France).

[Blessed Weather]

Fantastic to see Euro4 charts showing wide-spread snow across the Alps this weekend:

 

06.00 Sat 27th French & Swiss Alps

 

12.00 Sat 27th moving into the Tyrol, Austria

 

06.00 Sun 28th snowfall right across the length of the Alps 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Blessed Weather

[chionomaniac]

On my way back to the UK tomorrow lunchtime. Looks like the transfer to the airport could be a snowy one, but it looks like everything will open up after this weekend, though it will feel bloomin' cold with a 20ºC 850hPa drop in the week!

[frozencanals]

Evening all,

Well the promised 10 to 12cm of snow today did not materialise in the Salzburg area of Austria, I think we may have received 1cm. Hopefully more snow will fall with the next front coming through tomorrow evening.

Cheers

FC