Bergwetter

The oracle has spoken and announced the temporary start of winter in the Alps. Yesterday was a powder day with bright sunshine, even though the north-westerly wind was blowing freshly around our ears in the summit regions. As indicated in the last WeatherBlog, the blocking high-pressure situation has disappeared and made way for westerly and north-westerly currents. Autumn storm "Joshua" also played a role in this. One of the strongest hurricanes since records began is raging in the Caribbean. "Melissa" has hit Jamaica and is moving on towards Cuba.

Autumn is showing its best side and with the mountain peaks already covered in sugar, the first winter feelings are starting to set in. The current fantastic weather and the prospect of snow next week motivate us to write our first WeatherBlog.

Still no sign of summer break in Alaska. Just as winter is making a comeback in the Alps, it’s doing the same in Alaska. Despite being much farther north, Alaska is beginning to thaw—slowly. Spring is usually the time to "claim your spine" in the Chugach Mountains, but the weather windows have been few and far between, especially on the southern slopes. Since the last SnowChase, the weather simply hasn’t settled down.

The title and PowderAlert say it all: it's raining cats and dogs on the southern side of the Alps and a lot of snow is falling at high altitudes. We briefly discuss what a heavy precipitation event is and look at the current event in detail. Finally, we briefly recap the winter and bring the WeatherBlog season to a conditional close.

Before we head into summer break, we’re checking in one last time with an update on the heavy snowfalls sweeping across Alaska. Since last Thursday, the snow has been coming down steadily—and there’s more on the way through Monday. For everyone in our community chasing the dream of "Back into the Wild" or those iconic ski film vibes, here’s a quick look at what the weather has in store over the next few days.

The cool, sunny spring weather will increasingly turn into summer temperatures with the onset of the Föhn wind. A late onset of winter is not in sight, but at least some precipitation is possible in the south after the long sunny spell.

After the international kick-off, the SnowChase returns to Europe. The Alps reported their tenth PowderAlert at the beginning of the week - now it's Northern Norway's turn in the middle of the week. It's getting white around Narvik.

Central european summertime has started and April has begun - and with it the familiar April weather, with spring and winter battling it out for the upper hand. After the surprisingly heavy snowfall on the northern slopes of the Alps, the weather calms down for the time being. However, a further outbreak of cold air and another northerly flow are to be expected.

The period of southern storms is over and this week we are dealing with slightly early April weather. A mix of sun and clouds and a few showers here and there characterize the picture. Winter might make a comeback over the weekend!

Both the participants of the PowderGuide final meeting in Engelberg and Mose in the border triangle fully enjoyed the last snowfalls. Elsewhere, unfortunately, there was also slow glop paired with dangerous avalanche conditions. An intermediate high is currently giving us spring fever again, but will be replaced by a southerly flow with lots of precipitation at the weekend. We hope this will bring another PowderAlert, although the state of the precipitation seems to be more liquid than fluffy.

Two PowderAlerts after a long drought! And at least in parts of the Alps, it's continuing to be reasonably wintry! The south in particular is benefiting from a relatively stationary area of low pressure that lies diagonally over Spain and France and is repeatedly producing südstau this week. In the north (east), the amounts remain lower and will not significantly improve the snow conditions, but will hopefully at least alleviate the acute risk of forest fires.

After weeks of drought, there is finally some hope – at least in the south. This small snowfall could be just the beginning.