Lea Hartl

Steffi from SnowFlurry recently asked the group at the final PG meeting how long everyone's ski season is. There were as many different answers as there were people in our "circle". The ski season is not tied to the meteorological or calendar winter and just because the WeatherBlog goes on summer break doesn't mean that the skis are summerized.

Before coronavirus, the monthly "SchneeSemmelnare" events organized by the Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) were small lunchtime events in a seminar room in Innsbruck, usually with speakers from Tyrol. Since the switch to a digital format due to the pandemic, it has been possible to watch from anywhere and the speakers have also become more international: Manuel Genswein recently gave an update on companion rescue.

PA 15 had it all. The fact that a continuous blanket of snow forms in April even in the valleys - even if only briefly - is not completely unusual from a climatological point of view, but it is rather unexpected. Especially if you were still wearing a T-shirt just beforehand! What's more, it snowed both north and south of the main Alpine ridge! What was going on?

April weather lives up to its name and brings us a late PowderAlert after the first days of summer in March. A combination of high pressure over the Atlantic and a pronounced low pressure complex over northern Scandinavia is pumping cold polar air towards us.

Canadian Eric Hjorleifson, better known as Hoji, has been shaking up the freeski scene for 20 years. He first made a name for himself as a young talent in MSP's films, but is now increasingly drawn towards material development. We spoke to Hoji about his beginnings as a pro, current developments in the sport and, of course, about equipment.

The summery weather will reach its peak today, Wednesday. From tomorrow, it will become more unstable and temperatures will drop slightly. The development over the Easter period could be interesting: It is likely to become significantly cooler again, especially in the east of the Alpine region. Interesting options in the medium term!

The birds are chirping, the flowers are sprouting, the daily rhythm is stumbling over the time change and you can dry your sweaty inner shoes on the balcony: spring is here. Time for morning firn tours, high summits, sunburn and stubborn skins!

Last week's heavy northerly thaw is long gone, but it was still quite wintry in the northern Alps until after last weekend. In the west, the sun came through a little earlier, while in the east it was rather cloudy up to and including Monday, with snow showers falling again and again, even at low altitudes. Since yesterday, however, there has definitely been a spring feeling everywhere with lots of sunshine and significantly higher temperatures.

Nothing lasts forever and snow certainly doesn't, so enjoy it while it lasts! The northern thaw has done a great job and covered the northern slopes of the Alps in a deep wintery spring coat. It will stay cool and snow intermittently until the end of the week, and high pressure is expected to take over again from Sunday.

The weather is set to be changeable over the next few days, with not-so-bad snow options, especially from next week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the crystal ball is not mistaken and maintains its current vision. Long-term visions for the future are unfortunately much less snowy, reports the ZAMG.

The last issue of this column dealt with the so-called planetary boundaries, which show how much change the system can tolerate in various areas and at what point it becomes critical. It is not only in the context of planetary boundaries that the discourse on environmental change is increasingly focusing on tipping points. What is behind the buzzword?

Last week, the WeatherBlog received the following user question: "How are weather patterns and global warming connected? Does the frequency of warm weather increase in times of global warming? Or has the frequency of different weather conditions remained the same, but they have all become warmer?"