Current situation
In the lower level of the atmosphere, where our weather mainly takes place, a westerly weather slide has been installed that transports mild, wet air across the Atlantic to us. The current PowderAlert is announcing big things and so are the weather services, although the latter are thinking more in terms of severe weather and flooding potential. The combination of mild temperatures and heavy rain in places is enough for an "official severe weather warning" in south-west Germany, for example, in threatening red. In France and Switzerland, there are orange warnings of "very wet with wind and possibly freezing rain later".
The jet stream is pretty much in line over the Alps, so the next few days will be correspondingly windy and changeable. Precipitation has already started in the western Alps and it will become increasingly turbulent and wet in the east during the course of the day and tomorrow. Due to the southwesterly flow component, foehn effects will still be noticeable here and there in the east today. In the west, on the other hand, there is already a PowderAlert of the most alarming kind with hurricane-force winds and avalanche warning level 4.
At this point, it should also be mentioned that Spain and Portugal have been experiencing an absurdly rainy phase for several weeks now. After only around six weeks in 2026, some regions are already recording significantly more precipitation than in an average year. Morocco is also struggling with serious flooding and would probably prefer to do without further rainfall.
