Winter is Back in the Alps
16th April 2024
Last modified on April 18th, 2024
April: Hot, cold, hot… and now it is cold again.
At the beginning of the month there were the hottest April temperatures in the Alps on record.
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o Simon Miller/PlanetSKI.
We reported on it here from our alpine base in Innsbruck, Austria:
It was similar elsewhere in the Alps.
Les 3Valles, France. Image c/o Vanessa Fisher.
Now cold temperatures are back as a weather front from the north comes, bringing snow.
It has been snowing at resort level in Chamonix.
“This unstable polar airstream has already delivered some snow across the higher parts of the northern Alps, with further snow forecast to increasingly low altitudes both today and over the next few days,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk on Tuesday.
“Most of this snow will again fall across the northern half of the Alps, where 15-30cm is expected by Thursday evening above 1800m in the northern French and western Swiss Alps.”
The rain/snow limit will be low for the time of year, typically between 800m and 1,200m, but as low as 500m at times.
Thursday will see the coldest temperatures.
The Patrouille de Glacier ski touring race between Zermatt and Verbier has been affected with the first races cancelled.
🚩Important🚩
Les courses Z1 et A1 de la Patrouille des Glaciers au départ de Zermatt et d’Arolla prévues mardi et mercredi sont annulées à cause des conditions météo défavorables. #PatrouilleDesGlaciers pic.twitter.com/DVu70s4n94— Verbier (@VerbierResorts) April 16, 2024
Other events in the Alps have also been affected.
It brings a snowy end of season to some resorts that close this weekend, including St Anton, Flaine and Verbier.
Tignes and Val Thorens in France continue to the first weekend of May.
Some of the glacier resorts in Austria including Kitzsteinhorn, Stubai and Kaunertal continue well into May.
More to follow…
