Lea Hartl

A while ago, the possibility of a changeover from westerly weather to easterly cold was discussed here. As we all know, this didn't happen after all and the Atlantic has thrown one meter after another onto the north-west's measuring gauges. Now the cold from the east is making another attempt.

Last week's suspected change in the general weather situation is a thing of the past, the western slide is doing well and Fabienne is on the way. After a few fantastic winter days with freezing cold postcard weather, the next batch of powder is just in time for the weekend.

While the north-western Alps are drowning in snow, there is no sign of winter in the lowlands. January temperatures are often around 5 degrees above the long-term average and it has only seriously snowed above around 600 meters so far. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight to the wet and mild westerly slide - or is there?

Winds of hurricane force are when speeds of 64 knots are reached. That is just under 120 km/h or level 12 on the Beaufort scale. Wind forces in Beaufort are specified using phenomenological criteria. Level 11 (hurricane-like storm) prevails, for example, when there is severe damage to forests and houses and you can hardly walk. Level 12 (hurricane) is then a little more severe.

In 2011, we want to take a leaf out of the book of the ubiquitous annual reviews. As a skier, you usually think more in terms of winters and less in terms of calendar years, but if you sprinkle a few key statistical data points into the weather talk with strangers on the lift, you come across as incredibly well-educated, which rarely hurts.

As my colleague Powder Orakel delivers new updates practically every day in the wonderfully productive pre-Christmas period, I would like to take this opportunity to look at the somewhat more timeless nature of snow.

The precipitation maps are becoming increasingly colorful and our colleague the oracle is living up to his name with meaningful hints. Word has got around that something interesting is about to be fabricated in the weather kitchen. So why all the excitement?

It's been hard to believe recently, but the classic westerly weather pattern is one of the most common large-scale weather patterns in Europe. The current, long-awaited snowfall clearly shows why westerly weather is so important for winter in the Alps: reasonably widespread precipitation – and not too little of it.

In Austria and Switzerland, this year's November will go down in history as the November with the least precipitation since measurements began. Temperatures were well above average at higher altitudes, but a little too cold for the time of year in the high fog basins.

It is currently becoming clear how little sense the idea of "good" and "bad" weather makes. If you have too much of one, it soon becomes the other. The extremely dry November is increasing the risk of forest fires, particulate matter concentrations in the basins are reaching record levels and, unsurprisingly, almost all ski resorts without glaciers are postponing their openings. Some weather stations in the Alps will probably end November with 0.0 mm of precipitation.

In short: we were, are and will remain under the influence of a persistent high. The sun is shining in the mountains, while the lowlands are often covered in fog or high mist.

The tropics are known to be the regions of the world where you can lie on white sandy beaches all year round and retreat to the shade of palm trees when the heat is on its way. If you need more specific information for your GPS, you can find them between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Occasionally, however, it can get pretty uncomfortable in the tropics, depending on the area, a hurricane, typhoon or a simple tropical storm can ruin your beach vacation. If you don't care about that sort of thing and prefer a down-to-earth drizzle, you can go swimming in the Mediterranean with peace of mind.