WeatherBlog 12 2016/17 | High pressure until further notice

Current situation and outlook

The Alps are currently caught between a low in the Mediterranean and a high with a core over the British Isles. The low pressure system can still suck in some cold air in the east and this will reach us in an easterly current, which will gradually die down in the coming days or turn to the SE towards the weekend. This means that it will gradually become milder, at least at higher altitudes, while it will remain very frosty in the valleys under the inversion. There is no precipitation in sight for the time being, at least in the Alps.

There are serious PowderAlerts in the southern mountains of Europe: Abruzzo in particular has been literally buried by fresh snow since Monday, but there has also been a lot of fresh snow in the Pyrenees in the last few days (see e.g. here). In the Pyrenees, the snowfall is now slowly coming to an end, but it is still continuing in central Italy, southern Spain and the mountains of the Balkan countries. If you want to have fun in a snowstorm over the next few days, you have a much better chance on some Mediterranean beaches than in the Alps.

We have already pointed out the unusual situation in the Arctic several times this season in the WeatherBlog. Since this has been observed, the sea ice extent in the fall has never been as low as in 2016, not even in 2012 when the lowest level of the summer minimum was reached. There is still much less sea ice in the Arctic than usual at this time of year. Sea surface temperatures - where the sea is not frozen over - are also well above the long-term average (see graphs at the bottom of the gallery)

When the already unusually mild winter in the North Pole region is compounded by the influx of warm air due to the weather conditions of the last few days, you can actually say while freezing in a chairlift: I feel like I'm at the North Pole. At least if you close your eyes. At least it's still dark at the North Pole in winter.