Lea Hartl

After the first powder days of winter 2013/14 and high-pressure weather, the weather will become more unstable again at the weekend.

A Mediterranean low brings a base to the south, while the north hopes that even small animals make dung.

It's not winter yet, neither in meteorological nor in calendar terms. Nor is there much snow yet. Nevertheless, with the unconditional cheerfulness of the annually greeting marmot, it has been suggested for a few weeks now that something is ready. Online portals that have gone into summer hibernation are waking up again, the glaciers are filling up with ski clubs from central Germany, and if you believe the tracks in the off-piste terrain, which is sometimes really difficult, then even the average freerider seems to be blessed with a surplus of pre-season motivation.

Anyone who, like the WeatherBlog, was traveling on Alpine highways at dusk yesterday may have admired the borderline kitschy lighting mood: A full moon hanging low in front of a soft pastel-colored sky, with glowing mountains beside it.

After a rather chilly spring, it has suddenly become summer in the last few days. You can tell by the pale extremities that our fellow human beings are showing off as they stroll through the city, by the pigeons and couples playing turtle and, last but not least, by the temperature. A summer day is, at least according to meteorological understanding, a day on which the maximum temperature reaches at least 25°.

We're off, at least all of us from PowderGuide. The reason: we're meeting up in the Jamtal valley in Tyrol for the almost traditional PG end-of-season meeting. On board will be the PG editorial team, most of the Conditions reporters and many other PG friends, supporters and the world's leading avalanche rescue expert Manuel Genswein.

The WeatherBlog was recently on a ski tour. Due to a lack of competence in choosing a destination, he found himself in a cloud. Not under the cloud, but actually in the cloud, which from the point of view of those affected becomes fog. Above the fog, the sun was shining, while below it you could at least enjoy ski-length visibility. In the cloud, you couldn't see much other than fog. It was damp and somehow warm. Warmer than outside the cloud. The snow was also noticeably heavier. The WeatherBlog didn't get smeared, as it was cloudy, and got sunburnt.

Since the weather doesn't change much anyway, let's get back to the big picture and suggestions from the WeatherBlog topic requests thread.

The general weather situation discussed in the last blog has not changed significantly. A strong high over Scandinavia is blocking the westerly wind drift across the Atlantic, allowing cold air from the north-east to penetrate far into Central Europe. Low pressure systems are forced to move into the Mediterranean region and pass south of the Alps.

We've already had the meteorological beginning of spring, now it's time for the astronomical one. Spring itself is making a very tentative appearance, at least if you believe the whining of some of our fellow human beings.

Snowfall brings Frankfurt Airport to a standstill, there is a 100-car pile-up on a highway in Hesse, Spanish climbers are complaining about the incessant rain, Andorra is drowning in snow and, at least in the Eastern Alps, nothing is happening at all, although a few days ago masses of snow were predicted here too. What's going on?

Over the past week, the entire Alpine region has enjoyed fantastic sunny and stable weather. If you looked dreamily down into the valley while taking a breather on the ascent or enjoying a cappuccino on the sun terrace, you could often see a brown-yellow haze or even a low-lying layer of cloud.