WeatherBlog 23 2018/19 | Wintery into the summer break

April powder

The snow line is expected to be between 1000 and 1200m on Sunday, possibly a little lower in the north-east. Particularly in the south-east, considerable amounts of fresh snow may well accumulate by Sunday evening - the front will be supported by the development of low pressure in the Adriatic. It will already be relatively dry in the southwest on Sunday, and on Monday it will gradually clear up in the northwest with a persistent tendency to shower. In the east, it will remain cloudy and wet for the time being. From the current perspective, there is a chance of intermediate high pressure on Wednesday, when the weather will tend to become more unsettled again, although the models still disagree on what exactly this could mean in terms of local snow potential. The persistent drought in parts of Austria and Germany will probably only be slightly alleviated by the snow in the Alps, if at all.

In the gallery below, we take a look back at the past winter in the form of temperature anomalies (reanalysis data): A warm November was followed by a similarly warm December in the Alpine region. January was, as we know, snowier and colder than it had been for a long time. February and March were warm to very warm again. April ended on a cool note - which will dampen the monthly statistics somewhat - but has also been significantly warmer than the long-term average in most of the Alpine region so far.

WeatherBlogs

presented by

Lightning activity on the southern side of the Alps and the neighboring area to the south during yesterday's cold front. The arrangement of the lightning and the associated thunderclouds is linear (squall line). — Lightning activity on the southern side of the Alps and the neighboring area to the south during yesterday's cold front. The arrangement of the lightning and the associated thunderclouds is in a squall line.

meteoschweiz.ch

Other mountains, other problems

The SLF has impressive pictures of the rockfall with subsequent avalanche on the Flüela Wisshorn, while in Alaska this study is once again making the rounds due to constantly new temperature records. True to the motto "When the glacier melts, you can see where the poop is", it is about the mountaineer excrement left behind on Denali in recent decades, which has traditionally been transported to the next-best crevasses. Strict leave-no-trace rules have been in place for some years now, but the historical legacies (according to the study, around 2 tons per year), which were thought to have disappeared never to be seen again, are threatening to reappear. Using a flow model, the authors of the study have simulated the path of the excrement through the Kahiltna Glacier and announce that piles can be expected to reappear in the lower part of the glacier within the next few years. The authors assume that once they have thawed again, they will stink again and potentially contaminate the meltwater with E. coli.

It's always winter somewhere...

... and right now, after an otherwise pretty summery April, it's more or less winter again even in the Alps. Nevertheless, the WeatherBlog says goodbye to the so-called summer break and wishes you a great time on the mountain, without E.coli or other nasty surprises, but with late powder turns, dry trails and sunny rock, depending on your preference.