Klimawandel

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.

Martin is a volunteer with "Protect our Winters Austria". In his last guest article, he dealt with moral questions of being constantly confronted with being an active winter sports enthusiast and also an environmentally conscious person. Part of his answer to these questions lies in his commitment to POW, and now it is time for him to introduce "Protect our Winters Austria" and dispel a few preconceptions.

The mild westerly weather will continue for a few more days before it gets colder and more unsettled again, at least briefly, at the weekend. The outlook in the crystal ball is not overly wintry, with the westerly flow tending to stay with us.

It will remain varied. Today, Wednesday, it will snow again in many places in the north, while the sun will shine in the south. With temperatures rising, it will be quite friendly on Thursday and Friday. The next major disturbance is approaching at the weekend and is expected to bring a new round of storms and precipitation from Sunday. Unfortunately, it will probably rain at lower altitudes.

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.

In this guest article, Martin, a volunteer with "Protect Our Winters Austria", explains how he deals with the moral dilemma of skiing. A recurring dilemma that catches up with him and many of us winter sports enthusiasts year after year. Because whenever there are reports of new climate records in autumn, the media discuss the early start of the season, society has long since found the culprits and yet we can think of nothing else but ploughing through the snow as soon as possible, our guilty conscience grows. But the question is, why?

It is difficult to write about winter when it "does not" exist. It becomes a reminiscence that is objectively supported by a multitude of measurements and scientific studies and comparisons, but is subjectively nourished by a feeling that increasingly fades the longer and more often it is absent. At the end of the Snow of Tomorrow season, PGler Jan reflects on the past winter that wasn't one and those that are yet to come.

Spring has arrived not only in terms of the calendar but also astronomically and in terms of skiing. The weather is correspondingly mild and increasingly unstable towards the end of the week, with "April weather" tendencies also in evidence. Maybe even colder with precipitation next week? Otherwise: Another IPCC report. The content is not surprising, but still important.

Warm, dry winters, perfect grip on the rock: what sounds like a dream for sport climbers is a nightmare for enthusiastic freeriders and ski tourers. Yes, there used to be heatwaves and dry spells - in summer and winter alike. And yes, they still exist, the winter days with minus 20 degrees and fat powder, when you suddenly feel like you're in Hokkaido.

Winters with little snow, maximum temperatures and increasingly expensive lift prices: Does it still make sense to teach your children about your passion for two skis? And if so, what is important?

Hubert Aiwanger is using state funds to promote snow cannons in Bavarian ski resorts. In a winter between the energy and climate crises, this is leading to heated discussions. But do we even need these snow cannons or are we just hanging on to times long gone?

Temperatures remain wintry for the time being. There is fresh snow here and there in not very abundant quantities. Overall, the snow conditions still leave a lot to be desired, although the snow quality is often relatively good at the moment thanks to the low temperatures. The wind could have a say in this over the next few days, but the situation will remain more or less as it is, at least until the weekend.