Lea Hartl

The past weekend up to and including Monday was characterized by sunshine and high fog throughout the Alps. We count Monday as a weekend because the WeatherBlog suspects that some people took Monday "Finally the conditions are right for that steep tour I've always wanted to do". And anyway, every beginning of the week is also the beginning of the previous weekend.

It's not often that international weather reports dominate the evening news. If it does, there is usually not much else happening, or the weather has a massive impact on many people's everyday lives, for example in the form of extreme temperatures, as recently seen in the eastern USA and Australia, or masses of snow, as is currently the case in the Western Alps.

One winter morning a good three years ago, I made friends with fear. Since then, it has become a cherished companion.

Today and tomorrow will be extremely turbulent in the Alps with gale-force winds and heavy precipitation in the west and north. Also changeable at the weekend, with the current turning to the south. Also: spectacular lake-effect snowfall over the holidays in the USA!

The film Numinous by Dendrite Studios, which was recently named Movie of the Year at the Powder Awards, is a silent movie. The athletes, above all Kye Petersen, who played a key role in the production, delight the viewer with their silence and appealing skiing action.

An Italian low causes strong südstau. This is followed by a cold front in the north and then mild westerly weather. Cold air masses in north-eastern Canada are responsible for the latter, favoring the development of low pressure in the Atlantic.

A pre-Christmas snow streak in the east at the end of the week is followed by a milder phase over the holidays. Plus: 2017 was pretty warm overall, little ice in the polar regions and continued trouble with the weather on the internet.

Around 60 people are sitting in the seminar room of a Davos hotel. They include mountain guides, safety officers from municipalities and cantons, natural hazard experts from the Swiss Federal Railways and blasting experts and slope maintenance staff from various ski resorts. Lukas Duerr, avalanche warning officer at the SLF, asks the group: "What does serious danger actually mean?"

When the weather really gets going, meteorologists' hearts always beat a little faster. This week's WeatherBlog therefore includes a summary of the rather spectacular weather of the last few days and, of course, a brief outlook.

PowderGuide partner Devold is a traditional Norwegian manufacturer of wool clothing that has been dressing fishermen, farmers and polar pioneers like Fridtjof Nansen since the 19th century. Nowadays, in addition to the classic Norwegian sweaters that kept Fridtjof warm and cozy, there is also an extensive range of merino underwear for all kinds of sporting activities. This week, the Breeze ski underwear ensemble is our Gear of the Week.

A normal, cool autumn, a new cold snap at the weekend, a new Italian low. When it's on, it's on, thinks winter and relies on tried and tested weather patterns.

The signs are still pointing to winter. A northerly current is carrying polar air masses towards the Alps. It's snowing and it's staying cold or getting colder, at least in Europe. If anyone is interested in the weather at the North Pole: it's getting warm there.