Good Snow Conditions in the Run Up to Xmas
15th December 2024
Last modified on December 18th, 2024
There have been clear skies with cold temperatures, but things are warming up with another storm set to roll in. PlanetSKI reports from the Swiss Alps. UPDATED
All eyes are on the weather in the Alps as an expected storm forecast for tomorrow with the clouds expected to roll in on Wednesday.
Here is an update from Verbier, Switzerland, posted on Tuesday:
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And here is what it looked like out on the slopes on Tuesday, with few crowds around.
Hopefully it’s the calm before the storm.
Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Earlier this week PlanetSKI was in Crans-Montana.
It has been snowy and cold but that all changed on Monday with blue skies and rapidly rising temperatures.
In parts of the western Alps the freezing level could rise to as high as 3,000m.
It is hoped the rise is just a temporary blip with the weather changing on Thursday and the possibility of ‘significant’ snow.
Things were rather tasty on Sunday after a dusting of fresh snow.
Here’s PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, before the temperatures rose.
And if you want to get in the mood for winter then check out these images:
Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
This week will see a few days of mostly fine but much milder weather before a new storm arrives from the north-west on Thursday.
By then PlanetSKI will be in Verbier and we’ll be updating later.
We are currently on a little Pre-Xmas tour of Switzerland:
We will shortly be posting a full and in-depth report on what Crans-Montana has to offer.
There has been a 25% rise in British visitors since Covid and we will be looking at why.
Suffice to say that PlanetSKI rates the resort rather highly.
See here for our snow report from last week as we followed the weather:
For an overview of conditions in the Alps we turn to the alpine weather expert, Fraser Wilkin, from weathertoski.co.uk
“A few, very light, snow showers or flurries (1500m) will linger this morning across the eastern Austrian Alps. Otherwise, it will be a mostly fine and increasingly mild day, with freezing levels exceeding 3000m in the west,” said Fraser on Monday.
“Over the next few days, the weather will remain mostly fine and very mild, especially noticeable at altitude, before a storm rolls in from the west on Thursday bringing significant snow to many parts of the Alps.”
Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
The Pyrenees
Compared to the Alps the Pyrenees got off to a slow start with some ski areas forced to delay their openings due to unfavourable conditions.
That has now changed with heavy snow in France, Andorra and Spain.
In the French Alps La Mongie is reporting over 1m of snow at resort level.
In Spain Baqueira Beret is looking rather tasty.
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Scandinavia
In Scandinavia winter is well and truly underway.
Temperatures have been much colder though and most of the region’s resorts have seen fresh snowfall.
Most of the major resorts in Norway are open including Geilo and Norefjell.
In Finland Levi and Ruka have been open for several weeks and resorts in Sweden are open including Are, Salen, Stoten and Klapen.
We will be updating this article so do check back…
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