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PowderAlert 3 2018/19 | Ullr saves Christmas!

No, it's not a family comedy, but holy seriousness!

by Lars Oelmann • 12/22/2018
Mrs. orakel
Orakel
Mrs. orakel
Orakel
We're not dealing with the Grinch at the moment, who is making life difficult for our freeriders with his nasty behavior, but with warmth and rain up to 2400m. The weather is generally not very wintry at the moment. But Ullr is approaching to save the birth of another god and to give the red-clad guy from the Coca Cola ad a proper appearance with a sledge, at least in the Alps. How noble our favorite god is.

Alert period and areas

There are alerts from northern Valais to the Rax, with the core simulated uniformly in the crystal ball from central Switzerland to the Arlberg. The alert runs from Sunday morning to Tuesday morning (25.12.), with everything already over in the west on the evening of 24.12. and the last flakes still falling in the east on 25.12. in the morning.

Snowfall limit

Well, that's difficult. It will rise in the course of Sunday morning to 2000m in the west in France and the Swiss Alps and to 1400-1600m further east in Austria and partly within the Alps.

The snow line will then fall again to around 1000m in the far west and to the very bottom in the east. More snow tends to fall in the east in cool conditions. The quasi-full amounts come from 1600-2100m.

Mrs. orakel
Orakel
Mrs. orakel
Orakel

Wind

It will be quite stormy, but not a hurricane, so there will probably only be alerts up to the main ridge and not beyond. It's not entirely certain whether the foothills of the Alps will also get something this time, or only from the northern range onwards. The SLF sees a probable level 4 in the core, which is logical given the storm and large amounts of fresh snow.

The amounts

are surprisingly high, given that the pressure will be so high. From the northern Valais to the Rax, 60-90cm, although in northern France and the very west of Switzerland it could be just enough for alarm amounts of 30-40cm.

In the core from central Switzerland to the Arlberg, it could also be 90-110cm according to some models, but I just don't see the 120-150cm of some models, as the high pressure will push in very quickly and put an end to the precipitation. It's also not very cold and not a real traffic jam, so there are more likely to be surprises downwards than upwards, because the models usually overestimate precipitation at air mass boundaries.

In the east, it could even go over a meter in Salzburgerland/Northern Styria, as the high there takes longer and these notorious traffic jams in the east are usually underestimated.

The question becomes more difficult: what's coming at 1000m? In the east, it won't just be cosmetic and possibly a good 30-40cm or more. Hardly anything in the far west. Around the Arlberg, it should also be enough for bright Christmas freerider eyes down in the valley.

PG
PG

Where should I go?

Sunday the 23rd of December doesn't tear anything up yet, be nice to parents, friends or the man from the pizza delivery service (it's always a man, isn't it? As with garbage collection, gender stars don't pay off here unfortunately) and build up social credit.

I think Christmas afternoon is a candidate for risking relationships and family heritage for powdering on alpine meadows. Treesking will be quite tight, but if you know what it looks like underneath from the last alarm, that should work too.

Do you have social credit, don't have to go to Christmas until the evening or are you an orphan, single and/or a ski sociopath? Then I would tend to recommend the high altitudes of eastern Switzerland and the Arlberg. In the east, the area around the Salzkammergut

The 25th of December will be sunny and the temperature will be suitable for powder first, so the same applies here: Ullerica first, family second! In the west the warmth is already coming in, so watch out.

After that it will be warm and dry in the west, not so warm and also dry in the east, so everything should remain powdery on the north side.

Mid-term

Touring weather ad infinitum. It is still very uncertain whether anything will happen in the new year, but certainly not before the first week of January. You might be able to visit less important relatives during this period.

Powder to the people and Merry Christmas!

Your oracle

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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