A brilliant April is coming to an end. Snow down to the valleys and cold and wet, zero-visibility powdery weather is over for now: because midsummer is looming this weekend!
Current situation & outlook
A series of lows centered around the British Isles has recently compensated us generously for the meagre March. Although the temperatures were not record-breaking, they were rather cool for April and last Saturday, for example, felt more like January than spring conditions on a ski tour in the snowy winter forest. Apart from that, weather resistance was required when skiing last week. The treeskiing areas are closed, so we were left with either windy glaciers in whiteout conditions or ski touring with guiding through rocks, if these were to be found. Yesterday (Tuesday, 24.4.2012) around 10-20 cm of fresh snow fell in the northern Alps, more on the main ridge. The onset of the Föhn is already noticeable in places today, but in the morning there was a winter feeling even at lower altitudes.
In principle, the depression over the British Isles is staying more or less where it is; emphasis on more or less. It is sneaking away quietly and secretly. While it previously stretched its fingers far into the Alpine region, it is now clenching its fist, so to speak. At first glance, the weather map doesn't change much, but at second glance, it becomes clear that the Alps are now completely in front of the trough in a southerly flow that conveys very warm air to Central Europe. Our low pressure system splits up and part of it moves northwards. According to the current model opinion, a rather meagre remainder will drip off and bob around as a drop of cold air over the Bay of Biscay. Anyone who gets circulatory problems with strong temperature fluctuations should emigrate to Portugal or Scotland as soon as possible.
In the Alps, it will get warmer every day from today (Wednesday, 25.4.2012). On Friday, the Föhn winds are likely to be dangerously close to the 30°C mark and the zero degree mark will rise skywards. A cooling down on Sunday, which seemed possible until the beginning of the week, is no longer visible in the current model runs and so you should really prepare for T-shirt weather for the time being. One of the decisive factors for the firn fun at the weekend will be how unpleasantly windy it gets and whether high clouds prevent effective radiation. The wet snow avalanche season is also likely to have finally arrived.
Summer break
Thus, the WeatherBlog says goodbye to the summer break and wishes all readers and the rest of the world a nice, not too long summer. If anyone has any specific weather-related questions, the WeatherBlog would be happy to receive suggestions for topics and will endeavor to answer them next season. As a final note, it should be mentioned that the touring season is only just beginning and ice cream is rumored to taste even better after a ski tour than after a day lying in the sun.
