WeatherBlog 20 2024/25 | Changeable spring weather, World Glacier Day

Current situation and outlook

A low pressure system in the Mediterranean region is moving away and losing influence. Today (Wed), the upper level flow will shift to north-westerly directions and a weak cold front will brush the eastern Alps. It will remain relatively cloudy in the north and cosmetic amounts of snow will fall at higher altitudes. Thursday and Friday will be quite sunny.

After this rather unspectacular weather phase, there will be a marked change at the weekend with significantly lower temperatures, lots of wind and potentially some fresh snow in the north. On the edge of low pressure over Scandinavia, the Alps will be caught in a strong northerly flow, which will shovel much colder air masses southwards. There will be congestion effects in the north, while it will remain dry in the south with probably strong north föhn. The overall development is rather uncertain, so we'll hold back on the details and trust that the oracle will get back to us if necessary. At the moment, the PowderGuide weather maps for the northern Alps are quite optimistic. Renewed low pressure development in the Mediterranean region represents an uncertainty factor for the weekend, recognizable on the map by a prominent dump in the Maritime Alps. The WeatherBlog is currently rather skeptical about this, but is happy to be proven wrong.

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The weather change at the weekend interpreted by the PG-Powder Map.

PG-Wetter

UN Glacier Day

UN, UNESCO and WMO (World Meteorological Organization) have designated March 21 as Glacier Day. Last week, this day was celebrated for the first time, also as a kind of prelude to the "International Year of Glacier's Preservation". Glacier Day is followed by Water Day on March 22 - which has been around since 1993 - and falls within the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Science (2025-2034). What can be expected from the decade is not yet really known. On the occasion of Glacier Day last week, there were numerous events and media reports on the state and importance of glaciers in their global totality and in certain regions.

In the Alps, almost 40% of the remaining ice mass melted between 2003 and 2023. Some very small glaciers, of which we have many in this country, have already disappeared. For mapping the existing glacier areas, there is an increasing need to discuss when a melting block of ice no longer counts as a glacier. Traditionally, a glacier has an accumulation area in which snow and firn survive the summer. In the relatively low Eastern Alps, the firn areas have shrunk to small remnants in the last few years. A complete lack of accumulation is a clear sign that the affected glaciers cannot survive in the current climate - if new ice is not even formed at the very top, the glaciers can only shrink until they are gone.

The Jamtalferner in the Tyrolean Silvretta, 2003 and 2023.

IGF/ÖAW, LH

The subpar snow depths this winter are not a particularly good omen for the upcoming glacier summer. The thicker the seasonal snow cover at the end of winter, the more "buffer" there is for the summer. As long as there is still winter snow, the ice surface is protected from the sun and melting. Snowy winters are therefore beneficial for the glaciers. However, they cannot usually compensate for very hot summers. In 2023/24, many glaciers in the Eastern Alps had a fairly productive winter with lots of snow in late spring. Ice losses in summer were nevertheless high.

As usual, we hope for a snowy high alpine touring season for us and for the glaciers, so that we can still celebrate a few beautiful glacier days after the Day of the Glaciers.