Lars Oelmann

Didn't I say in the last alert that it would stop snowing on Monday? I was just on the Ullrphone and he said: Think again, dear! The new alert is in effect until midweek, as Ullr apparently has a plan to break seven-day snowfall records (it has already literally "pulverized" the 48-hour ones in places with 50- to 100-year events in the southeast). Then it's on to the next alert.

You won't hear it from me often, but at the moment it would be disrespectful to the people who are cowering in their basements and fearing for their lives and I actually see it this way: Ullr has an understanding and it will finally stop snowing soon. Sunday evening will be the end of the doomsday crowds.

Ullr has also taken this, admittedly slightly modified, wisdom from the IT industry to heart and, after a rather half-hearted Nordstau interlude, is now giving us another Südstau that is really something.

There is fresh snow in the north. After all. Unfortunately, the whole thing has been canceled out in the last two days, but there should still be enough for an alert in the northwestern Alpine arc by Monday evening. The snow line fits everywhere. Only the amounts are not at all euphoria-inducing.

I'm writing live from the südstau and can tell you that it's really powdering. Unfortunately, the snow is actually quite wet below 1700m as the zero degree line rises. But what do you care about yesterday's snow, you're in this section because of the snow of tomorrow. It's snowing. As always in the south. Where exactly? Further down.

When you're on a roll, why stop, thinks Ullr and sends several dumps from the southwest towards the Alps. What does that mean? It snows again exactly where there is already a lot of snow and the north gets nothing or at least virtually nothing in the west of Switzerland. The first wave starts tonight (Thursday) and ends Friday night. The second wave starts on Saturday afternoon and lasts until Tuesday.

Counter-current system? What is that? Without poaching too much into WeatherBlog territory, I'll say this: the countercurrent system is Ullr's way of bringing his faithful powder in exciting quantities without much wind (at least in the center) by letting two air masses make love over the Alps.

The new PowderAlert is due and there's powder again. This time again in the south and west. However, the amounts will be significantly lower than the Christmas alert and won't break any records. But it should be enough for the odd face shot. Once again, Ullr has no sympathy for the northern side of the Alps and first sends the Föhn ahead of it, only to add cosmetic snowfall again. In the far north and northeast, the cosmetic snowfall may be completely absent (east of Innbruck too). The dump starts on January 4th, ends on the 5th and the fresh snow is already fried by the sun on the 6th almost everywhere except for high northern slopes in the south.

It's time for the Christmas alert and some people seem to have been good and written Powder on Santa's wish list. Since Ullr and Santa Claus always hang out together, he of course immediately passed this on to Ullr over a beer and we are properly rewarded with südstau. But apparently some people on the north side of the Alps were naughty, so it stays foehn there for the time being and only starts to snow later and less.

Santa Claus is already rumbling up the stairs; the very last time to put a nice book under the tree for yourself or your loved ones. If you can't think of anything at all ... then take a look at our advertising corner for good old and good new books. Here are the (Christmas) recommendations from the PG editorial team. Guaranteed to be suitable for winter and Christmas!

Let's start with the good news: The drought is over. In the medium term, something will come out of the sky again. But why wander far away when good things are so close - at least in terms of time?

Okay... I have good news and bad news. You want it like in the action movie? The bad news first?