WeatherBlog 5 | Warm Christmas

Southern Switzerland was probably the frontrunner in this year's very punctual Christmas thaw. In Ticino, temperatures occasionally reached over 20°C on December 24 and many stations had the warmest December 24 in their measurement history. While the amounts of fresh snow in the last storm phase in the west were rather below the forecast amounts, there were the full amounts announced by colleague Orakel in the NW congestion in Austria. However, as we suspected last week, this was mostly "not meaningfully measurable" due to the hurricane. As an extra treat, rain was mixed in between, which caused the snow cover to collapse again quickly anyway. The progression of the snow depth at the Seegrube near Innsbruck impressively shows the rapid increase from just over 150cm on 21.12. to almost 250cm on 23.12, as well as the subsequent settling at significant plus temperatures. For the effects on skiing fun, please refer to the current ConditionsReports...

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Weather station Seegrube: the increase in snow depth and the subsequent settling at high temperatures are clearly visible.

lawis.at

Current situation and outlook

The Alps are located in a strong westerly current that brings mild Atlantic air to us. Temperatures have dropped slightly since the impressive Christmas thaw, but remain far from wintry cold. The relatively sunny, mostly dry holiday weather will continue more or less as usual for the time being. Tomorrow, Thursday, a less effective disturbance is likely to pass through, bringing more clouds, before it gets a little sunnier in the north on Friday with a light föhn wind. On Saturday, a front from the west to northwest will reach the Alps and bring some precipitation in the north - probably with a not quite low but still reasonably acceptable snow line. It doesn't look productive at the moment, we're expecting dust on crust, or dust and storms. The start of the new year is still crystal ball territory, but the signs are pointing more towards a return to high pressure with a westerly component than a mega onset of winter.

500hPa geopotential and surface pressure, Sunday 31.12. (GFS). Strong westerly flow, an area of low pressure is approaching the Alps, but is not expected to last long.

meteociel.fr

Regional climate reports

The end of the year is approaching and with it the season of annual reviews and reports. For all those who can't wait any longer and didn't get anything to read for Christmas, we recommend a summary of the Alpine climate in the DACH region in the summer half-year 2023, written by the weather services of the respective countries. Here you can read that it was significantly too warm almost everywhere and almost always. On a monthly average, September and October in particular were unusually hot. However, heatwaves in the preceding months also set new records in some cases, for example a new time series high for the altitude of the zero degree line was measured in Switzerland on the night of August 20/21 at 5298 meters. The report can be downloaded here, which is very readable and clearly illustrated. We welcome the transnational approach!

The newly launched Austrian Cryosphere Report is also at least transnational (which is quite a feat in Austria!). The mills of science grind rather slowly, so you can read here again how extreme the 2021/2022 season was for the glaciers and other cryosphere areas. The report also clearly illustrates how cryosphere monitoring is set up in Austria, from glaciers to permafrost and snow to lake ice.

The WeatherBlog wishes you relaxing days between the years and a happy new year!