Magazine

As WeatherBlog 21 already indicated, and as two PowderAlerts within the last week as well as many highly starry ConditionsReports prove, early spring has once again covered the north side of the Alps in white gold. Although the gold price has fallen considerably since mid-March. We dare to doubt whether there is a negative correlation here. What these two northern storms certainly correlate with, however, is the weakening of the jet stream - more on this in the special topic.

Our colleague Orakel has the details, but we also notice: Nordstau! For what feels like the first time this winter! At least east of the Arlberg, the base was and is poor to miserable for the end of March (!), but we are still happy about the late powder gifts. Also: Global weirding on the other side of the Atlantic.

The last Mediterranean cyclone has once again delivered a wild mix of powder and concrete snow to large parts of the Alps. The weather will remain varied and snowfall is still to be expected. And when the powder season slowly draws to a close, the high altitude season begins. The current high pressure and increasingly longer days are inviting the first high-altitude tours.

The tough omega situation is wobbling and the warm, sunny weather is coming to an end for the time being towards the weekend. With cold air from the north and the chance of low pressure developing in the Mediterranean, it could even get quite wintry again, but the details are still unclear. In any case, it will become increasingly unstable from today and the dry, reliable firn phase will be over for the time being.

The sun means well with us - perhaps a little too well. A small high-altitude low caused a few blemishes on Tuesday and Wednesday, then high pressure took over and the meteorological start of spring began with an omega situation. For us, this means big temperature differences between day and night, firn windows in the morning - and a watchful eye on the avalanche situation in the afternoon.

We repeat the latest message from the oracle - the wet westerly weather is over for the time being. We are heading towards spring, both in a statistical and meteorological sense and in terms of the character of the weather. The next few days will be very warm and very sunny.

The next north-westerly dust situation will snow on the northern slopes of the Alps and then spill over to the southern side of the Alps on Thursday. We notice that the polar vortex is favoring us and hope that it stays that way. Winter can begin and our new weather system is in the starting blocks.

PowderAlert has already reported it and we confirm it: All kinds of alerts in the western Alps and things are slowly getting more exciting in the east too. The western weather is producing one front after another and with a bit of luck we'll even manage a nordstau at some point this winter.

This winter can already be classified as difficult due to the below-average snow conditions and especially because of the treacherous avalanche risk situation. But all good things come from above: A circulation upheaval is planned in the stratosphere, which could greatly favor the northern slopes of the Alps in terms of upstream flow. In view of the old snow problem, we remain defensive in our route selection and look into the crystal ball of the weather below.

After some snow at the weekend, winter is visually recognizable again in the Northern Alps, although the base still leaves a lot to be desired. Some measuring stations are scratching the record minimum for the time of year. At least it's snowing in the south this week and maybe next week too!

Only the avalanche situation is more exciting than the weather. The dry early winter in the Austrian Alps is taking its revenge. A pronounced weak layer combined with wind and fresh snow has provoked a series of avalanche accidents and claimed several victims. Kamchatka was also badly hit, with huge snowdrifts burying homes and people. Europe is also facing a stormy week. Quo vadis 2026?