Alpen

Just as the squirrel busily collects small food supplies in the fall, the Alps collect Ullr's small gifts in early winter.

Since the beginning of the week, the very mild phase that has kept us busy recently has come to an end. High pressure still prevails in the Alpine region and the weather is autumnal in character, with high fog in many valleys and sunshine for those who make it out of the fog. A change in the weather is on the horizon for the weekend, which should make the whole Alpine region feel much more like winter.

There will be little change in the weather until the weekend. High fog will dominate in many valleys and in the Alpine foothills, with sunshine above. Snow is not in sight for the time being. There are options for winter over the course of next week in the crystal ball range, but this cannot be relied on yet.

The WeatherBlog kicks off the season and gets in the mood for the approaching winter in the autumn sunshine. Initially, there will be little change to the established general weather situation. The forecast becomes uncertain at the weekend. A cold front is likely to bring cooling. There are moderate precipitation options for the Alpine region, but they are on shaky ground.

It's that time of year again: the mountains are covered in snow, you slowly need a sweater and jacket in the valley again, the season and group ski passes justify the latest price increases, the first turns on the glaciers, PowderGuide starts the season. We're not quite in regular operation yet, but are gliding step by step towards winter as usual.

It felt more wintry in August, but nonetheless: the season is in the starting blocks (and PowderGuide is also slowly waking up from its deep slumber). Have you been to one of the glaciers for an opening party or to see if the edges are still holding?

The second corona winter brought many uncertainties, especially in the early season: Will there even be a season? What about the lifts and the borders? Over time, the "new normality" has become part of everyday life and we have come to terms with the circumstances.

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?

While the Oracle had become accustomed to swimming in the lake in recent years, it now has to remember the April months of the noughties, when you could ski powder more often.

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.

In contrast to the last few years and the fears after the summery episode in March, there is now another nice alarm in April! With a northerly thaw and heavy showers and possibly record high altitude cold! (MeteoSwiss says: If minus 40 really does reach the Alps at an altitude of 5000m, you have to go back to 1973 to find anything comparable).

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!