Deutscher Wetterdienst

The PowderGram is our interpretation of a classic meteogram, with a focus on variables that are particularly relevant for freeriders and ski tourers. In the following, we will introduce you to the concept and all elements of the PowderGram. We are optimistic that this will convince even the last doubters of the PowderGram.

In many places, the Alps are a winter wonderland. Nevertheless, we have a mixed assessment of the start of the season. There has been some nice precipitation, but none of it has been heavy. The snow conditions across the Alps are neither bad nor good for mid-December. The prospects for new snow are similar. I therefore describe the situation with the beautiful Spanish proverb: ni fu ni fa.

Winter is slowly coming to an end, even if the fresh snow maps on the PG-ICON weather forecast are once again turning colourful this week. In the meantime, we are continuing to work on the weather maps on Powderguide.com. We have refreshed the portfolio once again to provide the travellers among you with reliable snow and weather data. Our forecast maps are now also available for Norway and Scandinavia, the Caucasus and the Pyrenees! A search function has also been integrated into the map, allowing you to quickly search for locations, valleys or mountains.

The days of westerly weather are numbered. An Italian low is on the horizon for the weekend, which should bring cooling and a fairly widespread supply of snow.

With the new PowderGuide website, we are also presenting our community with a completely new weather service: the PG-ICON weather. Sebastian, who is probably best known to most readers from our "Videos of the week" section, is in charge of this. Sebastian holds a doctorate in meteorology and is currently researching tropical precipitation in high-resolution global climate models at the University of Trento. We are very happy to have Sebastian as a specialist in our team and are delighted to be able to introduce him and the new PG-ICON weather with an interview.

If it were in any way promising, the WeatherBlog would go on strike. But unfortunately, as we all know, you can't negotiate with the weather and so we remain trapped in the dry boredom of the concrete high, which is slowly but surely becoming a depressing monotony. On the crystal ball horizon there are signs, albeit still uncertain, of a late frost.

The high pressure will stay with us until tomorrow, but then the general weather situation will change to much more zonal, mild westerly weather. This means more snow, at least for the higher elevations, albeit at relatively high temperatures.

After the labyrinthine social distancing lift queuing system had brought us together by chance and we had taken our seats as far apart from each other as possible in the four-seater chair, my lift colleague mumbled through his FFP2 mask: "A temperature like in winter!"

What to do with the WeatherBlog? Skiing has been canceled, there are more important things to do. In stark contrast to the state weather services, which are part of the critical infrastructure and therefore have to continue to function anyway, we are here purely for entertainment. On the other hand, I personally find the weather report after the TV or radio news to be soothing, reassuringly normal, as is looking at weather maps. So, let's talk a bit about the weather.

Storm Sabine, which was very present in the media and also in the weather, has left us again. The changeable westerly weather is still with us, but not quite as stormy.

After the statistically inclined meteorologists have already thought it was spring since the beginning of the month, the more astronomically oriented calendars are now following suit and have also been proclaiming the new season since yesterday (March 20). Meanwhile, the weather is unimpressed by this and that and remains rather wintry as usual.

Today, Wednesday, will be very sunny for the most part thanks to the influence of intermediate highs, and any remaining hillside clouds should clear quickly. Thursday will be cloudy with the arrival of a warm front from the west. In the western Alps, it will probably be cloudy from the morning onwards, while it will remain clearer in the east in the morning.