Current situation
Last week was characterized by heavy snowfall in the south, which also spilled over the main ridge here and there. On the whole, however, it was much drier on the northern side of the Alps - the foehn was more at work here. The bird's eye view of the northern hemisphere shows that the jet stream over Europe is currently meandering, i.e. it is making a kind of loop that runs from south to north over the Alps. This has been the case since it started snowing in the south.
The corresponding pressure distribution looks, roughly speaking, as follows: Trough in the west, massive, blocking high in the east, which is impossible for Atlantic disturbances to get past. These slide past the British Isles via France towards the Mediterranean, from where new fronts are constantly being directed towards the Alps by the prevailing southerly flow. Comparatively cool air from the north, which meets the warm and humid Mediterranean, further favors the development of low pressure and independent Mediterranean lows form.
