Inversion

A normal, cool autumn, a new cold snap at the weekend, a new Italian low. When it's on, it's on, thinks winter and relies on tried and tested weather patterns.

Now that our colleague Orakel has already spoken twice, it's high time for the WeatherBlog to dive back into the action. The weather has a lot to offer at the moment, so we'll take a classic look at the current situation and the outlook for the future.

At the meteorological start of spring, it's getting wintry on the southern slopes of the Alps. The rapid change of mild, partly foehn-like weather on the front of the trough, followed by the fronts last night and today during the course of the day, is causing a turbulent PowderAlert with interesting amounts of fresh snow, but also strong storms.

There is no doubt that we are still in the area of influence of the massive Omega High with its core in the Danish region. In the southern Alps there were still clouds and the odd snowflake until the beginning of the week, while in the north the sunshine has not been marred by more than a few high foehn clouds for some time. It will become more unsettled towards the weekend and it will snow a little in the north. Also: New Europe Climate Report and other reading tips.

After the wintry, more or less snowy interlude of the last few days, high pressure is now increasingly asserting itself again. There is still a bit of fluff in the southwest, but the remnants of the disturbances will quickly disappear. We are falling back into the pattern of the previous winter: Atlantic block, cold air from the east, unusually warm Arctic Ocean.

We take a look at where January 2017 ranks in the climate statistics and then consider the current situation and further developments in February: a long phase of cold, dry weather is followed by mild, foehn-like conditions in the north and fairly widespread precipitation in the parched south. It remains to be seen whether this change will last or whether we will soon return to familiar patterns.

The Alps are under the influence of a powerful high with its center over Germany. In the west, a small high-altitude low will provide some visual variety in the form of clouds, but there won't be more than a few scattered snowflakes here either. While it will get colder every day near the ground, it will remain relatively mild at higher altitudes.

The recent snowfall in the northern Alps will now be followed by a phase of high pressure with calm, mostly sunny weather. Fresh snow is only expected in the mountains of southern Europe for the time being. We are also taking a look at the North Pole this week, inspired by a user question.

The long awaited and since at least last week hyped northern storm has arrived. My colleague Orakel has already summarized the practical information (short version: in the east - Salzburg/STMK area - it looks best in terms of amounts and base, it will be very windy), so we are less concerned with the result of the current weather situation and more with its general structure.

Why does only the East get something from the PowderAlert? What happens afterwards? What about the possible weather change at the turn of the year?

Several people have asked the WeatherBlog in the last few days: Does dirty air make more snow? (The reason for this was this ORF article.) The question of course includes a second, unspoken, not entirely serious question: Should I perhaps leave the car engine running overnight every now and then? We could also remove the air filters from the industrial plants, or burn the pile of leaves in the garden all at once, and maybe throw a few car tires on the fire! What about the weather?

There has been virtually nothing new since last week, at least as far as the weather is concerned. One cloudless day follows the next. Temperatures have risen a little at higher altitudes, but in many valleys it's still very chilly under the tough inversion. There is no change in sight for the time being.