Lea Hartl

Short version of the forecast: The next few days will be very, very warm. Still wet today, then mostly sunny. Cooling with the option of snow down to low altitudes, probably at the beginning of next week.

Overall, the weather will continue to be changeable and prone to precipitation, with a significantly fluctuating snow line. Over the next few days, Atlantic low-pressure areas will repeatedly reach us, which will be steered towards the Alps from the west. Due to the alternation of warm air at the front of the trough and colder air at the back of the trough, temperatures will be on a rollercoaster.

The special feature of the Scott Shield ski goggles is the Amplifier lens, which adapts to changing light conditions and, according to the manufacturer, only lets through the "important" wavelengths and blocks less useful wavelength ranges.

A southerly foehn will end the cold, snowy winter weather phase in the northern Alps for the time being. The controlling low lies over the British Isles and, as is so often the case, warm air from the southwest will be brought to the Alpine arc. In the north, the next few days will be characterized by Föhn winds, in the south it will be cloudy with - depending on the altitude - liquid or solid accumulated precipitation.

After the labyrinthine social distancing lift queuing system had brought us together by chance and we had taken our seats as far apart from each other as possible in the four-seater chair, my lift colleague mumbled through his FFP2 mask: "A temperature like in winter!"

There has still been little change to the large-scale constellation of high and low pressure centers. The Atlantic current is blocked by a strong high and its continental counterpart is located over Russia. The low-pressure complex that has been keeping us busy in the Alps for some time is neither advancing nor can it be replaced by new lows from the west.

The new year is young and many hopes are still pinned on 2021. May it be better than 2020, more normal, less characterized by uncertainty. Twitter memes and feature articles look back with disgust and forward with optimism and cynicism in equal measure, spurred on by the turn of the year, which may only be one night among many, but is nevertheless highly symbolic if you are looking for a reason to leave the past behind.

After the südstau is before the südstau, or: To those who have, shall be given. The Christmas pattern is repeating itself and a calmer phase today and tomorrow will be followed by the next stormy southerly situation on New Year's Day. The focus of the precipitation will once again be in the south-east and we are once again waiting for a report from the oracle with further details.

Good news for the Northern Alps! The Christmas thaw is still raging at the moment, but from Thursday evening it will get colder from the north with snow down to low altitudes. Presumably, a Christmas alarm will go out in the northern congested areas. We are eagerly awaiting a message from the oracle!

Sebastian, the curator of the Videos of the Week, is unfortunately unable to make it this time, so Lea has come up with a few video recommendations at short notice. It's a pretty mixed selection, but that's the way it is when the substitute has to step in! We start with a lecture on behavioral economics and avalanches, then turn our attention to the snowpack, then back to the human factor and finally to the best (?) of all ascent aids.

The more southerly parts of the Alps up to the main ridge and a little beyond now have a decent base after the extreme southerly dust, while the northern Alps still have to wait. The different conditions can also be seen in the CRs at the moment: In the south and southwest, powder is great, while in northern Salzburger Land a reporter has to make do with ski tours on frozen fields, slightly sugared.

The influence of low pressure will remain until the weekend. It will continue to flake here and there, but the extreme snowfall - more on this in the current alert - will come to an end. This is a good thing for the core areas of the southern congestion.