Jetstream

Last week, the WeatherBlog received the following user question: "How are weather patterns and global warming connected? Does the frequency of warm weather increase in times of global warming? Or has the frequency of different weather conditions remained the same, but they have all become warmer?"

In line with the still not at all wintry weather situation, the weather services of Germany, Austria and Switzerland have stated in a joint press release that winters are becoming milder and that there is less and less snow, especially at low altitudes. Rising temperatures mean that proportionately more winter precipitation is falling than rain.

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.

In the last few days, the WeatherBlog has often heard the question of whether the current weather misery can be blamed on climate change. It's somehow to blame for everything and in the meantime we've often read that it's causing more "extreme" or simply more persistent weather conditions. So what's this all about again?

The current southerly foehn conditions are almost creating a summer feeling, especially in western Austria and parts of Switzerland: in Feldkirch (Vorarlberg), 20°C were measured at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, and temperatures were also close to the 20° mark at some other stations on Tuesday morning.

After our colleague Orakel has already reported four times, it's high time for the WeatherBlog to return from its summer slumber. We are starting the season with a classic overview of the very interesting general weather situation:

The meteorological winter is coming to an end (the skiing winter is still a long way off, of course!) and with it, the permanent high that has dominated the Alpine weather for what feels like half an eternity is slowly coming to an end.

Over the past few days, the Alps have been under the influence of an elongated low-pressure trough that has extended as far as North Africa. Most recently, a small low developed over the Iberian Peninsula, which resulted in a not overly pronounced southerly flow.

The past weekend up to and including Monday was characterized by sunshine and high fog throughout the Alps. We count Monday as a weekend because the WeatherBlog suspects that some people took Monday "Finally the conditions are right for that steep tour I've always wanted to do". And anyway, every beginning of the week is also the beginning of the previous weekend.

Spring has arrived in the Alps and the high pressure weather will continue until the end of the week. Towards the weekend, it will become much cloudier with precipitation on the northern side of the Alps. We are also looking at Storm Stella, which is currently affecting the US East Coast.

What was in short supply during the height of winter is now being made up for: With a strong push of cold air over Central Europe, the next late winter interlude is on the horizon for the weekend. Gardening enthusiasts should perhaps not put frost-sensitive plants outside just yet, while winter lovers will be delighted with the polar air expected by the models.

Question from Tobi: A meteorologist, who is one of the more forecast-minded types, once told me that the stable weather conditions, i.e. good for a long time or bad for a long time (it's always a question of perspective, of course), have increased significantly. This is also in line with my personal perception, although you can be very wrong. Are there any empirical findings on this or what do you think about the trend?