Europe Weekly Roundup #278
Updated 29 January 2025: Huge snowfalls hit the Alps and Switzerland, Scandinavia sees its best week yet, and Scotland rebounds after storms. Pyrenees await a crucial dump!
• Alps Blanketed in Fresh Powder as Heavy Snow Transforms Conditions
• Scandinavia’s Snowiest Week Delivers Deep Powder and Prime Skiing
• Switzerland Sees Biggest Snowfall of the Season – And It’s Still Falling!
• Storm Closes Scottish Slopes, but Fresh Snow Brings a Turnaround
• Pyrenees Awaiting Make-or-Break Snowfall After Disappointing Rain
EUROPE OVERVIEW
After two reasonably dry weeks with stable weather across Europe, we’ve seen much more unsettled weather, particularly in the western and northern parts of the continent. Low temperatures, heavy snowfalls, and strong winds have sometimes been added to the mix. The Alps have seen significant snowfalls since Sunday, initially with rain on lower slopes but turning to powder for many.
Elsewhere in Europe, snowfall in The Pyrenees, which was initially expected to be big earlier this week according to models at the end of last, turned out to be less with, unfortunately, rain in the mix, so there has not been the season transformation hoped. Scandinavia has had one of its best weeks of the season with low temperatures and significant snowfalls, up to 33cm in 24 hours. Eastern Europe has been mostly dry with plenty of sunshine and stayed cold. Scottish areas have seen conditions improve despite the most violent storm in a decade closing slopes on Friday. Low temperatures and fresh snowfall have returned here, too.
AUSTRIA REPORT
After a relatively warm and dry end to last week, Austria has had a much colder, snowier week since the weekend with some decent snowfalls and temperatures well below freezing, getting into the negative teens, in fact, above 2000m overnight. The snowfall continues as we complete this week’s report, but some centres have posted more than 50cm since Sunday.
Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn (50/100cm / 20/40"), where the 2025 Alpine Skiing World Championships are due to get started next week, is posting the most terrain open in the country right now, 240km/150 miles of runs representing 90% of their terrain and just ahead of the Skiwelt, Arlberg and Ischgl/Samnaun. The news isn’t all good, though, with rain reported at lower elevations at times.
AUSTRIA FORECAST
The return of sunshine for many Austrian areas for the latter half of this week, temperatures remaining reasonably low though, down around freezing as a daytime high at 1500m, but getting down to -5 to -8C at 2,000m overnight. There will be more unsettled weather and likely snowfall at the start of next week.
FRANCE REPORT
After last week's light snowfalls in the most southerly ski slopes in the French Alps, the dry spell further north finally ended after nearly a fortnight, with the first accumulations posted on Thursday. Chamonix initially posted one of the more significant accumulations with 30cm (12”) in 24 hours. Serre Chevalier posted 20cm (8”) in the same period and La Plagne and Alpe d’Huez 15cm (6”) each. After some dry weather at the weekend, the snowfall intensity has increased since Sunday, with Les Arcs (0/270cm / 0/108”) topping Monday’s reported accumulations with 47cm (19”) in the previous 24 hours. The news wasn’t all good, with some lower resorts posting rainfall at times, but overall, the snowfall has just got more intense over the past few days.
FRANCE FORECAST
As we complete this week's report, it’s still snowing in many areas, but the forecast is for skies to clear from Thursday with a cold and sunny end to the week ahead. Temperatures will be down to -10C to -15C, with highs only a degree or two above freezing.
ITALY REPORT
Southerly Italian ski areas had also been amongst the first to get fresh snowfall early last week, and here, too, the snow became more consistent and widespread, initially in the west of the country, from last Thursday. Courmayeur and Pila posted 20cm (8”) in 24 hours to get things started. By the weekend, La Thuile (35/180cm / 14/72”), which had already been posting the deepest snow in the country, had had another 30cm (12”), its biggest accumulation of the year so far. It was a similar story for Passo Tonale (50/100cm / 20/40”), which posted powder conditions and all of its slopes open like many Italian resorts. The snow has kept falling over the past few days with many areas seeing the heaviest falls on Tuesday.
ITALY FORECAST
Skies have been clearing across Italy since Tuesday evening, and most of the country will be bathed in sunshine again from Thursday through the rest of the week. Temperatures look much colder, though, with highs only a degree or two above freezing and lows about -10C.
SWITZERLAND REPORT
It’s been the snowiest week of the season so far in Switzerland, and it’s still falling. After a mostly dry fortnight, the change began in the west of the country at the end of last week, with temperatures dropping and the first 5-20cm (2-8”) accumulations starting in time for the weekend. Crans Montana (0/120cm / 0/48”) was one of the first to post a much-needed 15cm (6”) snowfall. Warm temperatures are still having an impact, though; the 85th running of the Inferno race at Murren saw racers hampered by the warming effect on the snow after the first few of the 1850 racers had set off, and it was a similar impact on the snow elsewhere, with rain falling at times on lower slopes.
It has been colder and still snowier over the last few days, though, with heavy snowfall particularly welcome in the East of the country, which had had a thin time of it so far this season. Arosa Lenzerheide (70/90cm / 28/36”) posted a 45cm (18”) accumulation to start the week, and nearby St Moritz (50/106cm) got 38cm (15”).
SWITZERLAND FORECAST
A mixed forecast for Swiss slopes for the remainder of this week, with cloud and some light snowfall continuing in the centre and eastern sides of the country, but most sunnier weather is expected in the west and south, although with low temperatures into February, mostly subzero with overnight lows dipping below -10C on higher slopes.
PYRENEES REPORT
After a mainly dry January, snowfall finally started to return to the Pyrenees at the weekend. Still, unfortunately, the big accumulations initially forecast did not really materialise; instead, warmer temperatures than forecast led to rain rather than snow on some lower slopes. Baqueira Beret (60/70cm / 24/28”) reported “wet snow” along with a couple of centimetres (an inch) of snowfall to start the week. There were also strong, gusty winds to add to the experience. The snowpack in the region is about 50/60% of the average, so we're still waiting for a transformative snowfall for the season. However, Portugal’s Serra De Estrela posted a big snowfall on Tuesday, so it is the place to be for fresh snowfall in the latter half of this week.
PYRENEES FORECAST
The forecast big snowfall is now looking like, hopefully, arriving this Thursday/Friday when higher slopes in the region are due 30cm (12”) to 50cm (20”) plus accumulations, which would indeed be the transformative snowfall needed in the area, if it arrives as forecast.
SCANDINAVIA REPORT
After last week’s temperature drop, conditions have improved dramatically in Scandinavia. Sweden’s largest area, Sälen (50/60cm / 20/24”), posted over 30cm (12”) of fresh snowfall going into the weekend, and its slopes leapt to 80% open, then 95% open to start this week. Norway’s Trysil (58/65cm / 23/26") posted a similar accumulation and, in its case, is now up to two-thirds open. These falls make the last seven days the snowiest of the season in much of Scandinavia. It's also seen that the average snowpack depth climbs from below average, which has been all season, to 105% of average or more in many areas.
SCANDINAVIA FORECAST
It was a sunny end to the week for much of Scandinavia, with temperatures down in the -15 to -2C range for most. The exception is Norway’s Western coast, where snowfall will continue to dump on the coastal mountains.
EASTERN EUROPE REPORT
There’s been plenty of sunshine across Eastern European ski slopes this week, especially in the Balkans, where daytime highs have become double figures on lower slopes. Despite this, snow cover remains good in Bulgaria, with Bansko (20/185cm / 8/74”) reporting its slopes now 100% open, and Borovets (150/160cm / 60/64”) is actually claiming Europe’s deepest snow at its base. Further north, there’s been slightly more changeable weather in the Carpathians and Tatra Mountains, with a few light snowfalls (rain at times at lower elevations). Still, there’s been little change to snow depths/open terrain, which again is close to open at most larger ski areas fully.
EASTERN EUROPE FORECAST
Mainly dry weather in the north, temperatures in the -5 to +5C range and just light snow showers expected. Sunny conditions continue in the Balkans with warm temperatures, as high as +10C, at resort bases in the afternoons. Overnight lows are still getting a few degrees below freezing, though.
SCOTLAND REPORT
Scottish ski slopes have had a much more promising week for snowfall than the past few if we ignore Storm Éowyn’s impact last weekend, closing centres and blowing the freshly fallen snow off the slopes. But it stayed cold, and there have been regular snowfalls. Glencoe Mountain Resort was the first to open terrain beyond the small areas maintained with all-weather snowmaking. It opened its Access Chair, Coire Pollach, Plateau Poma, Magic Carpet and Cliffy lifts on Sunday, noting “…some lovely skiing on the lower and mid mountain runs. There is not enough snow yet on the upper mountain, but it fills in. Snow cover varies from metres to centimetres depending on how it’s been blown.” Further snowfall over the next few days has allowed the centres to open more terrain.
SCOTLAND FORECAST
More settled weather with plenty of sunshine is expected in the Highlands for the latter half of this week, but temperatures remain cold and typically below freezing on ski slopes. Unfortunately, temperatures may start to rise again from the weekend, but for now, it is a pretty promising picture.
