WeatherBlog 4 2017/18 | Don't change a running system

Current situation and outlook

The cyclonic north-westerly situation from the beginning of the weekend is history. A high pressure system is now paying us a brief visit and will bring some rather windy but very sunny weather today and tomorrow, at least in the mountains. The inversion will persist in the valleys and high fog is to be expected.

On Thursday, the flow will increasingly turn from northwest to southwest and in the typical foehn lines it will be - surprise - foehny. Mild air masses will reach us and the zero degree line will rise significantly for a short time. On Friday, the foehn front will be followed by the associated low with significant cooling and precipitation.

Not only have we seen cold air outbreaks of this kind in recent weeks, but we have also seen the marginal low in the northern Mediterranean forecast for the weekend. Depending on how things develop, the weekend will be exciting in terms of snow on both sides of the Alps. As usual, our colleague Orakel will report the details.

In total, precipitation in Austria was slightly above average in the fall, although it was very dry in the south of the country. Autumn was also relatively wet in Germany, with the edge of the Alps in particular receiving some (only at high altitudes in the form of snow). In Switzerland, it was too dry overall, with slightly above-average precipitation levels on the central and eastern northern slopes of the Alps. Autumn was up to 50% too dry on the southern side of the Swiss Alps, in Valais and in western Switzerland.

And as far as the snow of recent weeks is concerned, this is also quite close to the climatological average in many places, although there are regional differences as to whether the amounts of snow are currently just above or below average.

So, all in all, statistically and emotionally: a pretty normal #powvember. After the last few years, that's definitely cause for celebration!