Jetstream

As WeatherBlog 21 already indicated, and as two PowderAlerts within the last week as well as many highly starry ConditionsReports prove, early spring has once again covered the north side of the Alps in white gold. Although the gold price has fallen considerably since mid-March. We dare to doubt whether there is a negative correlation here. What these two northern storms certainly correlate with, however, is the weakening of the jet stream - more on this in the special topic.

PowderAlert has already reported it and we confirm it: All kinds of alerts in the western Alps and things are slowly getting more exciting in the east too. The western weather is producing one front after another and with a bit of luck we'll even manage a nordstau at some point this winter.

Various WeatherBlogs, regulars' table discussions and powder oracles have already hinted at it and we confirm: the winter weather is over for now. The infamous Omega weather pattern is currently establishing itself over Central Europe and it is already getting noticeably warmer. Whether there will be a summery Christmas, how much rain could fall and what this has to do with the polar vortex is discussed below. For the Omega weather situation, we recommend that nervous freeriders take a meditative "Ommm", inhale deeply through the nose and exhale with the belly. We hope this will help regulate stress levels for the time being.

It won't get any more wintry in January. Apart from low pressure activity in the Thyrennian Sea, not much precipitating weather is to be expected. Although the western Alps will get some snow again at high altitudes, there will also be some rain. We believe that the main reason for the uneventful westerly weather is the stability and positioning of the polar vortex. Is the winter weather dead and if so, when will it rise again?

The westerly weather that seems to have lasted forever will come to an end over the next few days. At the weekend, we can expect accumulating precipitation in the south and foehn in the north. The outlook after that is still hazy, but at least more interesting than recently.

The changeable spring weather is still really cold in places and at times already thundery! The meandering jet stream continues to indicate stratospheric influence and it seems that we will still experience some fluffy precipitation in April. The weather in the Alps remains unsettled and summer is still a long way off.

The current PowderAlert is a rollercoaster of emotions. Fresh snow: great, finally! Especially in the Western Alps, where hardly anyone can remember such a dry winter. But the snow line bounces back and forth with every front. Will the meagre base in the mid-altitudes be washed away for good? In any case, the fresh snow is good for the glaciers and maybe there will be a ski touring spring in the high mountains after all?

The oracle has already announced the key points: The coming days will bring heavy north-westerly accumulation with lots of fresh snow and wind. In terms of snowfall, the eastern Alps (from around Arlberg) look better than the west. A look at the large-scale structures explains why this is the case!

The weather will remain windy and generally mixed for a few more days. From the weekend onwards, high pressure will increasingly prevail and, in keeping with the meteorological start of spring (March 1), the coming week looks very sunny and mild.

After a small Italian low pressure system brought between 20 and 30 cm of fresh snow to the south (even just above the alert limit in the Julian Alps), it's now time for some fresh snow in the northwest.

The WeatherBlog also wanted to try a clickbait headline. Did it work? We'll give you the answer right away: maybe. The current week is still relatively winter-friendly, but things will become more uncertain from the weekend onwards. A significant and rather longer-lasting moderation is likely, but the exact timing is still uncertain.

There will be a brief spell of sunshine today (Wednesday), followed by more snow on the northern slopes of the Alps. The weekend is also expected to be very wintry with snow down to low altitudes.