First Significant Storm of Winter Hits the Alps

19th November 2024

The Alps, Scandinavia and the Balkans are about to see large quantities of snow and a sharp drop in the temperature. Winter is on its way! NEW

There is already some snow falling in the Alps with Scandinavia seeing up to 40cm.

In the Alps snow has started to fall with the freezing level dropping to around 1,400m.

Verbier in Switzerland opened its Lac des Vaux area last weekend.

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“Another potent storm is forecast to arrive on Thursday with the heaviest snow again in the north-western Alps,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.

“The rain/snow limit will start very low, rising temporarily towards 1,500m in places for a time before quickly falling to low levels again later in the day.

On Friday the weather in the Alps should become drier and milder everywhere.

Throughout this week, the heaviest of the precipitation will fall in the north-western Alps:

Val d’Isère
The 3 Valleys
Les Arcs
La Plagne
Flaine
Avoriaz
The Swiss Alps (except the far south)
The west of Austria (Lech & St Anton)

“These areas will see very significant qualities of snow at altitude this week, with 60cm to 130cm of new snow (and even more in places) set to fall above 1800m, the higher accumulations most likely in the high resorts of the French Tarentaise, including Tignes and La Rosière,” added Fraser Wilkin.

“The north-eastern Alps ( Saalbach, Kitzbühel, Schladming, Obertauern) are more likely to see in around 15-30cm of new snow.

“Parts of the southern Alps will also see significant snow this week, especially the south-west (e.g. Milky Way) where 60cm or more is possible by the end of the week, with the heaviest falls due on Thursday.

“The central and eastern Italian Alps (e.g. Dolomites) and southern Austrian Alps (e.g. Carinthia) will probably miss out on any substantial snowfall this week, with around 5-20cm more likely at this stage.

For the very latest see weathertoski.co.uk.

The ski tour operators and agents are reporting some brisk business, helped by colder temperatures in the UK,

“With the great snowfall in the Alps this week we’re all getting excited with the phones buzzing with customers wanting to book an early trip,” said the CEO of SNO, Richard Sinclair.

“There’s some great Xmas ski deals available but New Year ski holidays are almost sold out in the popular resorts.”

There is also snow falling in the USA and Canada.

We have recently reported on it:

Heavy snow falls in the USA & Canada

Whistler in Canada has seen around 1m of snow in the past week and is opening early.

Whistler Blackcomb will kick off a season of firsts when its lifts start spinning for the 2024/25 ski and ride season earlier than planned with the opening of Blackcomb Mountain on Thursday, November 21st.

It is followed by the opening of Whistler Mountain on Friday, November 22nd.

It’s looking good in the USA too:

Snow is in the forecast and just in time for opening day! Take full advantage of your Epic Pass this season with Epic Mountain Rewards. Enjoy 20% off food, lodging, rentals, lessons and more perks to make the most of your trip. pic.twitter.com/g0EDogprNv
— Park City Mountain (@PCski) November 18, 2024