Omega-Lage

Since the beginning of the week, the very mild phase that has kept us busy recently has come to an end. High pressure still prevails in the Alpine region and the weather is autumnal in character, with high fog in many valleys and sunshine for those who make it out of the fog. A change in the weather is on the horizon for the weekend, which should make the whole Alpine region feel much more like winter.

The current omega situation will continue to bring us warm temperatures and sunshine. On Friday, there is a chance of change in the form of more clouds and perhaps even some (light) precipitation in the north, then mostly sunny but slightly cooler again at the weekend. There is currently no sign of winter.

After the interesting contrast of Sahara feeling in the Alps and snow chaos in the northern German lowlands, the cold is now making its way south. The coming weekend will be very cold with lots of sunshine. There will still be a little snow here and there today and tomorrow, but the coming cold phase will be mostly dry.

The WeatherBlog is slowly waking up from its summer slumber, even if the current weather is rather tempting to throw the alarm clock out of the window and turn over again. After the first hopeful harbingers of winter, a tough blocking situation has dominated events for some time now. Nevertheless, the block is shifting and temperatures are dropping. And: Tomorrow, the PG Weather Service will also start the season!

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.

The Alpine region is still under the influence of an Omega high. The snow cover continues to build up at higher altitudes and on the shaded side, while there is something similar to firn on steep, lower southern slopes. Surface frost can also be found, but only rarely due to the low humidity in relation to the amount of radiant nights.

Winter returned with a roar over the Easter holidays. Hurricane Niklas was followed by further disturbances embedded in a strong NW current and snow and cold down to the valleys. Easter Monday seemed more like a successful St. Stephen's Day. This impression was only disturbed by the occasional rumble of thunder.

January may have felt relatively wintry, but the statistics have no feelings. February, on the other hand, is currently spring-like in the mountains, while the lowlands are often bobbing along under a blanket of inversion-induced fog.

It is and remains omega-like spring. There is still powder, but it can only be found by searching and luck, as the wind and sun have been hard at work.

PG-Conditions reporter KarlNickel asks: "I assume (the forecasting uncertainty) is mainly due to the large amount of data and parameters that are difficult to calculate? I would be interested to know ... whether it will be possible to make reliable 7-day forecasts in about 10 years' time."

Okay... I have good news and bad news. You want it like in the action movie? The bad news first?

We've already had the meteorological beginning of spring, now it's time for the astronomical one. Spring itself is making a very tentative appearance, at least if you believe the whining of some of our fellow human beings.