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PowderAlert 16 2019/20 | Second helpings with obstacles

It's snowing again and a good amount, but unfortunately it gets warm for a short time.

by Lars Oelmann • 03/04/2020
Chris Skala
Regina Skala
Chris Skala
Regina Skala
It's snowing again in the west and a little in the north too, but that's not quite part of this alert. Or half of it. And it's getting warm too, but not everywhere. As you can see, it's not easy to get Ullr's gifts out to the people this time, because Alert 16 is a little moodier than the great Alerts 14 and 15.

It's hard to believe, but the snow cover in the French-Swiss border region and parts of France is above average, or in some places well above average. What a week with Ullr's gifts can do!

Alert period and areas

This alert goes from the lower Valais to the Hautes Alpes in France and until Friday morning.

But it also goes from the Arlberg to the northern slopes of the Swiss Alps and in the southeast until Sunday morning. But only just, because it will start snowing in the west tonight and in the north on Thursday, but the big amounts will come quite quickly and only in the west. In the north it will continue to fluff up and there may be a little surprise, but not in 24 hours and it's more suitable for touring.

East of the Arlberg you can look into the powder pipe.

Wind

It will be stormy for a short time and foehn-like from the southwest in the north, then turn and remain within the range of a normal high mountain snowfall. However, as it turns, it gets warm and cold and snow falls quite calmly at the end, it can be quite dangerous.

PG new snow forecast

PG new snow forecast

PG new snow forecast

Snow line

Well, here we have the salad: It gets warm from the southwest and the snow line rises quite high from further down and then goes down again quickly from the northwest.

This means: In the foothills of the Alps and in the north, it goes up from below 1000m to almost 2000m and then goes way down again. In inner-Alpine France towards Ecrins, Sayoyen, in the south and in Valais, it stays around or below 1000-1200m. In the southeast, it will go up to 1500m and then down again.

But more on that in the section: "Where should I go?"

The amounts

It is snowing in the core from the western Lower Valais to the Hautes Alpes until Friday morning, 30-60cm. And in a southwest-facing backwater without warming, it could be 70cm or so. Due to the brevity, there won't be any surprises upwards. After that, there's a bit of fluff from the north, but this is more likely to cause poor visibility than powder dreams.

On the northern slopes of the Alps in Switzerland, there's no need to scrabble around and load up the GoPros, because not much happens there until Friday. Then it'll start to fluff up and by Sunday I can see 30cm or a little more here, because the global models like to underestimate the accumulation holes in long, comfortable traffic jams, but since it only snows here in a long period of time, it's more of a touring alert than a ski resort alert.

In the southeast there's about 30-50cm in the border triangle, otherwise less.

Chris Skala
Regina Skala
Chris Skala
Regina Skala

Where should I go?

This is difficult, but for Friday I would go to the border between France and Switzerland within the Alps, or if you can go further directly to France into the trees. That will be pretty good.

Saturday will also be difficult, as it could be otherwise, because while clouds are still moving through in the northernmost part of France and the northern slopes of the Swiss Alps in general, it could also break open in the Hautes Alpes and the inner Alps. Whether you find a place with lots of fresh snow AND sun is a matter of luck.

Sunday will be quite sunny everywhere and you can plan tours.

Mid-term

From Monday onwards, it doesn't look like cold and snow, but rather warmer and dry. It is still extremely unclear whether we will see a return to the west with moisture and a changing snow line from Tuesday-Wednesday. You can still choose the model you like. So let's go to the Ullrschrein and hope that it turns out like the matching models and that it continues to be damp and cool again.

Powder to the people!

Your oracle.

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