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PowderAlert 7 2019/20 | Westautobahn traffic jam on the A2

As announced in the mid-term alert 6, the big dump in the West is now coming.

by Lars Oelmann 12/12/2019
Ullr is sending us a lot of snow in the Western Alps, but also heavy storms and rising snowfall limits, so there is not only powder, but also a high avalanche risk.

The time has come! The weekend dump is coming. And Ullr is sending the powder trucks onto the highway. A westerly dust situation sets in that lasts until Saturday evening.

Alert areas and period

This alert lasts until Saturday evening and extends from the Hautes Alpes to the Arlberg, with the core going from the Lower Valais to the Hautes Alpes. So it tends to come a lot in France.

Wind

Really strong storm. At the top, many ski resorts will not open tomorrow (Friday) and possibly also Saturday. Together with the rising snow line, this will be a nasty avalanche cocktail for Sunday. However, it will push the snowfall to the French/Italian main ridge or beyond. Even deep in Valais, almost the full amounts are coming.

Snow line

Starting well down and on Friday most of it will come as snow from 1000m in France too. Then the whole thing rises quickly on Saturday to 1500-1900m, although it can stay lower in the inner Alps with heavy precipitation. In general, it will stay deeper with every kilometer to the north.

The amounts

Outside the core, there will be about 30-50cm in the north and 40-70cm towards the north and lower Valais. In the west, from the western lower Valais, 60-80cm and in classic backwater areas in France, 100cm are also possible. However, the full amounts only come from around 1800-2000m, where it is sheltered from the wind.

Where should I go?

Friday you can pick your favorite tree area with a base. On Saturday, you should stay above 1500m in the inner Alps in France or in the lower Valais to avoid the greatest warming. On Sunday, you can go higher up and the ski resorts should be open again. However, the situation is likely to be extremely precarious, so you won't be able to ski much.

Mid-term

In the north and west, the weather and avalanche situation will calm down and you can go touring. In the south, it will close up on Monday and there may be a new alert for Tuesday. In general, it will be rather warm and foehn-like on the northern side of the Alps, which is likely to be bad for the ailing Eastern Alps in the north.

Powder to the people!

Your oracle

Tip game

We're using the Finhaut l'ecreleuse station in western Lower Valais for the tip game, which likes to benefit from such conditions.

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.

Show original (German)

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