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WeatherBlog 16 2017/18 | It's getting warmer again

The cold snap is coming to an end

by Lea Hartl 02/28/2018
At the meteorological end of winter (March 1), it is now fittingly getting warmer again after the exceptionally cold last few days.

Current situation and outlook

We have an elongated Azores high to thank for the unusually cold weather at the "end of winter" (of course, winter is far from over in terms of skiing!). It extends far to the north and blocks the weather flow from the Atlantic. Due to the lack of westerly drift, cold air masses from the east were able to work their way to Central Europe. At the same time, it is very warm in parts of the Arctic due to the warm air supply from the blocking high.

The cold air from Siberia only brought snow in the form of lake effect showers on the Baltic Sea. Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are therefore currently quite wintry, which is of course less relevant in terms of skiing - unfortunately. It is also snowing heavily in southern Europe and the south of England.

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After the presumed cold peak last night, it is now getting warmer again. The high pressure system tips over and "falls" to the side into a high-over-low situation. The Alps are on the southern edge of the associated low or a low-pressure trough running from west to east. This will bring warm, humid air from the southwest to the Apenbogen. Today, Wednesday, will still be very frosty, but by tomorrow temperatures will rise to around 15°, although it will take longer to warm up further east. Tomorrow, light snowfall is likely in the south, while in the north it will remain foehn-like. Friday and Saturday will also remain unsettled with precipitation in the south and west and a tendency towards friendlier, but not really good, weather in the north and east. From today's perspective, Sunday looks relatively sunny before it gets cloudy again in the afternoon, especially in the west.

Winter review

We emphasize once again: The skiing winter is not over yet, only the statistical meteorological winter. The latter was very rainy. In Austria, a total of 25% more precipitation fell than the long-term average, with January in particular being very wet with an increase in precipitation of 70%. The most snow and rain fell in Tyrol and Carinthia. The snow depths in the mountains are consistently above average, but not in the valleys.

The explanation logically lies in the temperatures. Apart from the last few days, they were above average, especially at low altitudes. In Austria, the cool February (-2.1°C colder than average) could no longer prevent the "mild winter" status in view of the slightly too warm December (+0.8°C) and the very warm January (+3.8°C). However, February 2018 was one of the coldest Februaries in Austria in the last 32 years in the mountain regions.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

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