Countercurrent system? What the hell is that? Without poaching too much into WeatherBlog territory, I'll say this: the countercurrent system is Ullr's way of bringing his faithful powder in exciting quantities without much wind (at least in the center) by letting two air masses make love over the Alps. This time it's just enough for an alarm, but there are also much stronger calibers. The catch: the whole thing will once again be somewhat limited in terms of extent, but this time there will finally be snow on the northern side of the Alps. At least in Switzerland and western Austria. Let's start with the temperatures: There will be enough snow for all relevant ski resorts, as the snow line will gradually drop below 1000m everywhere. First in the south and then in the north as the cold air seeps in. Above 1200-1400 m it is snow everywhere immediately. Where is it snowing? Again, this is such a tricky thing with counter-current systems: because like Italian lows, their wild and hot-blooded cousins, they are a little impulsive. But you can say that everywhere from the Maritime Alps via France to the Arlberg and everything west of it on the northern side of the Alps and the whole of the southern side of the Alps there should be alarm amounts of 30 cm. Just barely in some areas, but still. So it starts at the moment (Monday evening) in the western and southern Alps and then extends to the whole of Switzerland and the Arlberg / West Tyrol. The amounts are as follows: In the Maritime Alps up to the Hautes Alpes there will be 20-35 cm, followed by a zone in northern France up to the Bernese Alps with 15-30 cm, which is just about alarmable, followed by a zone of 25-40 cm in the north from the Goms and central Switzerland up to the Arlberg. The focus here should be on central Switzerland and Glarus, as is usual with counterflow systems. However, this is uncertain, so I assume a downward fluctuation range of 10-15 cm, depending on where the air masses make love ;). To the east there is a zone with 10-20 cm, which can also bring just a few flakes in the far east (east of Tyrol) in the north. Yes, I know, exactly where people can only endure the winter with Swiss stone pine schnapps from cola glasses at the moment anyway. You must have particularly annoyed Ullr. In the south, the amounts are more exciting, because the flow is right there and from Ticino eastwards towards Adamello, 20-40 cm should fall, and 50-70 cm are also possible in the far east in the Dolomites and towards Slovenia. Here, however, I see an inaccuracy of 10-20 cm downwards, as the countercurrent system may run out of steam faster than expected, so that only 30-50 cm may remain. In the western southern Alps, especially in Italy, there is also the possibility of very occasionally scratching the 50 cm mark, but only if the air masses become quite strong. Towards the main ridge, the amounts can easily be halved as the high-altitude flow is not very pronounced.
The whole thing ends on Tuesday night and it opens up on Wednesday. So play in the trees on Tuesday morning and head up high on Wednesday. Preferably in the south. In the medium term, it looks like there will be even more powder in time for the weekend. First in the south again, but then an active westerly current will set in, which should also turn the clock back from "early November" to winter in the northern Alps. So we continue to sacrifice at the Ullrschrein, but finally the powder slabs are growing again. ALPENWEIT. Powder to the People!Your Oracle
