Lea Hartl

The Tyrolean meteorologists are more important these days than at any other time of the year: the Hahnenkamm race at the weekend needs to be looked after, with precise forecasts and nowcasting thanks to weather stations set up on the Streif.

Morocco - many people only know it from Casablanca. But a trip to the northwest African coastal state is also worthwhile on skis.

On January 19, 79 rookies (17 women and 62 men) proved themselves in a 2* Freeride World Qualifier where the pros of the World Tour will be battling for victory in just over a month's time. On the Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn, it was "drop in" shortly after 10:00 am into the Herrgottsrinne at the women's start of the Freeride World Tour. As at the start in the Axamer Lizum, Martin Rofner from the Arlberg stood at the top of the podium at the end of the day. Benedikt Minutillo, Lea Hartl and Stephanie Hamann also won in their respective categories.

Weather is complicated. Sometimes more, sometimes less. In light of the current situation, today's WeatherBlog is once again dedicated to the development and interpretation of precipitation forecasts.

Last Saturday was, let's say, the most interesting day in the WeatherBlog's ski instructor career for a long time. Even getting out of the car in the pouring rain proved difficult for the entire team due to a lack of motivation. A few hundred meters up the gondola later, it was still almost as warm and still pouring, to the particular delight of those colleagues whose workplace is located on the magic carpet next to the gondola. Only at around 1800 m, at the top lift in the area, could the precipitation be described as snow with a little good will.

2012 not only ended on a warm note, but was also warmer than average for the year. Over the next few days, the east can look forward to northern congestion before high pressure dominates the weather throughout the Alpine region.

At the end of the week, a cold front brings brief cooling with fresh snow. Possible change in the general weather situation next year.

The current weather situation offers large east/west and cold/warm contrasts and remains difficult to predict. A sudden warming of the stratosphere could determine the further course of winter.

The dreamy winter weather in the north is coming to an end. A westerly situation brings milder air and snow in the west and south.

The WeatherBlog is currently located in an area of the world, somewhere between so-called Styria and so-called Carinthia, where there is only sometimes and even then only shaky, minute-by-minute free Internet. As the weather forecast by looking out of the window only works to a limited extent, we leave the current events, if they are relevant in terms of powder, to our colleague the Oracle.

On the occasion of the fresh snowfall that Storm Heike is bringing to large parts of the Alps, we take a look at a few subtleties of the precipitation forecast.

The WeatherBlog is back from its summer break and vacation far away to catch up on the weather of the last few weeks and the current conditions.