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WeatherBlog 7 2025/26 | Contemplative Christmas thaw

No fresh snow in sight, maybe at least colder for Christmas

12/17/2025
Lea Hartl

Tyrol at the weekend: Lots of sun, long shadows, little snow.

LH

Tyrol at the weekend: Lots of sun, long shadows, little snow.

LH
Every year, we and all the Christmas tourists are waiting in the wings, but the weather isn't really cooperating. The foggy areas in the foothills of the Alps are probably the most wintery at the moment. In the mountains, the sun is shining and temperatures are climbing into the double digits with the influence of föhn winds.

Current situation

The general weather situation in Central Europe has remained more or less unchanged since last week. The Omega High is not budging and the weather is as divided as ever: Sunny and mild at the top, cold and foggy at the bottom. It's not snowing, but in the shady valleys a layer of frost is gradually forming that at least looks like winter. However, even the frost is suffering from the foehn at the moment, as the wind is "clearing out" the inversion and letting the mild mountain air in and down. After all, this also blows away the fine dust. The longer an inversion persists, the more air pollution can accumulate, as the layer of air close to the ground is not replaced (close to the ground also means close to highways and industry).

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Weather station Achenkirch (Achensee), Föhn clearly visible on 16.12. around noon: temperature jump of >10°, wind shift to south, increase in wind speed.

lawis.at

Weather station Achenkirch (Achensee), Föhn clearly visible on 16.12. around noon: temperature jump of >10°, wind shift to south, increase in wind speed.

lawis.at

At higher altitudes, there has been less rather than more snow recently. High temperatures are also affecting the artificial snow slopes, as it was often too warm at night to make snow. During the cold phase a few weeks ago, many ski resorts only managed to produce a relatively scarce base of artificial snow and would be in urgent need of replenishment, whether from snow cannons or natural sources. Here we present a selection of subjectively relevant reports from the regional press as a small picture of the mood in Tyrol:

Prospects

The nervous strain of the pre-Christmas period is expected to reach its peak this week and, depending on the model ensemble, should settle down to a normal seasonal level from the weekend onwards. The short foehn phase will come to an end today (Wednesday) at the latest. Precipitation from the stau on the southern slopes of the Alps will remain cosmetic (order of magnitude ~5cm). From Thursday, clear sunshine should prevail everywhere again, at least above the high fog patches.

Sea of fog at night in the Achental valley.

foto-webcam.de

Sea of fog at night in the Achental valley.

foto-webcam.de

It will be foehn and more unsettled again at the weekend. This is due to an area of low pressure off the European Atlantic coast, which is causing a more southerly flow. According to the current model opinion, the low pressure system will drip over the Iberian Peninsula, while our omega concrete high will weaken. Instead, a "high-over-low" situation develops with an area of high pressure near Iceland and the aforementioned low over Spain. In the medium term (around the holidays), this constellation will lead to a north-easterly flow that transports colder air masses towards the Alps. This should make it cold enough for the snow cannons at the latest. Unfortunately, no other precipitation is in sight, but perhaps our WeatherBlog colleagues will have a Christmas surprise for us next week, or the Krampus will bring us a small helicopter load of snow as decoration for contemplative après-ski brawls.

Winter dreams

Finally, one last report from Tyrol: the brief text accompanying the headline "Drunk and asleep in car on piste" explains that two men wanted to fulfill a dream. Namely "to spend the night on the piste and start their skiing day from there". Who could blame them?

We hope the police were lenient and wish all PGers a Merry Christmas. May your snow dreams come true!

500hPa geopotential and ground pressure, GFS, exemplary map for Tuesday next week (23.12.). High over low situation with NE flow over Central Europe.

meteociel.fr

500hPa geopotential and ground pressure, GFS, exemplary map for Tuesday next week (23.12.). High over low situation with NE flow over Central Europe.

meteociel.fr

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