Anecdotal for certain, but these keep piling up. This from the UK Snowboard Club. – Anthony
Early snowfalls in Europe hit Historic Levels
Posted Wednesday 3rd December 2008, 2:15 pm by Dunx
- 20 year record snowfall in Dolomites enough to last all season
- Some Swiss train services cancelled due to excess snow
- Still more heavy snow in the Pyrenees
- More snow for Scotland
www.Skiinfo.com is following still more heavy snowfalls across Europe over the past 48 hours, with much more snow in other parts of Europe and many areas of North America too.
The snowfall has been so great that it has closed roads, brought down power lines and even led to the cancellation of some Swiss rail services this week.
One of the greatest beneficiaries are the Italian Dolomites where 150cm (five feet) has fallen at Cortina in a 48 hour period up to Monday, with snow still falling.
Alessandro Fregni of Skiinfo.com’s Italian office commented, “In three days ski areas have seen almost as much snowfall as for the whole winter last year.”
The snow has arrived with perfect timing for the ski resorts who are seeing a boom in ticket sales at a time of economic uncertainty. Alessandro believes the snow is enough to last all season and will also mean resorts can save money by not needing to use snow making equipment.
However the snow is causing practical problems for both locals and those wanting to reach the snow with almost every pass in to the Dolomites closed on Monday and many villages without electricity. However the situation will be resolved quickly once the snow stops falling.
It was a similar if slightly less dramatic picture to the north where competitors at the annual season opening Santa Claus World Championships in Samnaun had difficulty getting to and from the event as Swiss public transport in the area struggled to cope with heavy snowfall there.
On Monday rail services were cancelled in the area of Eastern Switzerland due to the snow. “We should have used their magic sleighs.” joked a bemused competitor after missing his flight home as a result.
Most other Swiss resorts have great cover and more new snow. Skiinfo issued powder alarms in the past week for Skiinfo with 70cm (28 inches) and Davos 53cm (17 inches) of fresh snow each. Many major resorts now have snow depths of 2-3 metres (7 – 10 feet).
In Austria the snow cover is also superb with Heiligenblut the biggest recipient of the week’s latest dump, receiving a metre (40 inches) of powder in the past seven days.
Many of the open French ski areas have reported at least a foot of new snow in the past week. Several have much more including Les Arcs, with 80cm (32 inches). New openings this weekend include Les Orres, Chamrousse, L e Grand Bornand, Isola 2000 and Montgenevre. Alpe D’Huez and Courchevel will be fully open and Megève partly open.
It looks like the ski areas in the Pyrenees and elsewhere in Spain which dominated snowfall news in November with record pre-season accumulations leading top early openings of ski areas in the region will continue in to December, as the snow keeps falling.
Baqueria Beret in the Pyranees.
A new cold front has brought still more fresh powder to Spain (Formigal and Sierra Nevada have both received 70 cm/28 inches more powder in the past week) all the ski resorts in Spain will open for a three day holiday weekend. For Spanish skiers and boarders the Purísima Feast on December 8 is a must every year and represents the official opening of the winter season.
On the French side of the range Cauterets opened last weekend with 80% of runs available on opening day and up to 150cm (five feet) of snow.
Elsewhere in Europe conditions continue to be very good in Scandinavian countries too. Norway’s Hemsedal currently has 65cm (over two feet) of snow on its slopes, with Bjorli registering the greatest snow depth at present with 100 cm (40 inches). The country’s ski areas have received up to 38cm (15 inches) of new snow in the last week with Skiimnfo.com issuing a powder alarm for Trysil, the largest resort in Norway. The snowfall makes it possible for Trysil to open more slopes and lifts for the upcoming weekend, said Jan Linstad, Trysil ski area’s manager.
In Eastern Europe it’s a more mixed picture with some warm temperatures limiting cover. However Slovenian areas are open and Bansko has opened in Bulgaria with largely machine made snow.
In Scotland The Lecht re-opened last week before closing for a second time in November as the snow thawed. However more snow fell yesterday (Tuesday, December 2), temperatures remain well below freezing and heavy snow is forecast for tomorrow, Thursday (December 4), raising hopes of a weekend re-opening.
In North America the picture has improved dramatically in Colorado, just as it did this time last year before a meteoric snowfall season in which several resorts set record snowfall figures after a warm November 2007. One of the best reports is from Vail which has had 63cm (25 inches) of snow in the past week. Nearby Copper Mountain has also been able to open its Superpipe, the first on the continent this season. Conditions are generally less good on the country’s West coast however with delayed openings or limited cover at many ski areas.
Further north it’s a mixed picture in Western Canada with Mount Washington announcing it will delay its opening due, planned for this Friday, December 5, due to lack of snow.
“We have patchy snow on the ground right now after some rainfall last weekend,” explains resort spokesperson Brent Curtain. “We need to see approximately one metre of snow on the ground before we can begin slope preparations for our opening day.”
Further north still however Alyeska in Alaska has opened with a huge five metre (200 inch) base, although temperatures were reported to be as low as a seriously chilly 8F at the ski area summit on Monday.
On the other side of the region one of the early openers, Marmot Basin in Alberta, which has already seen 89cm (three feet) of snow this winter, opening another five runs.
On North America’s East Coast most resorts are open and in the case of resorts in states like Maine and Vermont reporting “The best start to the season for years.” with a foot (30cm) or more of natural snowfall at most, topped up by the extensive snowmaking systems common in the area.
Further afield Japan has had its first taste of winter too. Grand Hirafu in Niseko opened on 22nd November with things not looking promising and very little snow in the village and just a light cover of snow on the top of the resort. True to its self-proclaimed status of “powder capital of the world” however, over a metre (40 inches) of snow then fell in just three days.
Visit www.skiinfo.com to sign up for powder alarms from your favourite resorts, check current snow conditions and projected snowfalls with snow finder as well as exchange news and views in the Skier’ Lounge.
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Amazing stuff, snow. Sunlight sparkles off it quite spectacularly. 🙂
I wonder how the delicate little fantasists are faring in Poznan at the moment?
Wouldn’t it be interesting if they experienced some really good cold weather with heavy falls of snow on their fantastic parade.
At 150m altitude near the Oslo fjord we have about 25cm of snow. It varies a lot locally, especially with altitude. This weekend we had -10C but right now it is 0C, projected to fall below zero again in the coming days.
I would say this is “how it should be” and not in any way historic for this location. But it is clearly more snow near sea-level than we have seen in recent years. Maybe we are returning to how things were in the 60’s and 70’s?
Excellent, I’m heading to the Alps in January and can’t wait. What’s interesting is the three main websites I check for news each morning when I arrive at work all carried this story (WUWT, Icecap and SnowboardClub.co.uk).
Mt. Aigoual, Lord of the Cevennes is also doing better as far as snow is concerned.
http://www.aigoual.org/
It’s cold and snowing in China as well…
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/04/content_10458027.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/07/content_10469838.htm
Which if it continues over the winter does not bode well for the hundreds of thousands of people still homeless following the May 12 Sichuan earthquake and still sleeping in tents or temporary housing…
It was certainly pretty cold in Cornwall this morning; it would be nice to have some snow, we haven’t had any for years (but this is usual, living 2 miles from the sea!)
OT: UAH is out for November at 0.254. This is quite a significant date because they now have the magic 30 years (360 months) of data – Happy Birthday UAH!
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/uah/plot/uah/trend
The linear trend over that time is 0.38K, or 0.13K/decade, 1.3K/century.
All we need now is RSS next month and we’ll have 30 years of data for all four series!
Nice to see an industry doing well in these times. Still i think i would perfer somewhere warm for a winter break.
Remember reports like this from 2006.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/dec/14/austria.germany
I like this part:
“Banks in Switzerland are refusing to lend money to resorts below an altitude of 1,500 metres (nearly 5,000ft) and some small firms are closing, said Shardul Agrawala, who carried out the study.”
How things change so fast, two years ago it was considered a big deal that a bank would not lend money!!!!!!! Now there is plenty of snow but i bet you could still not get the loan.
No snow today in the environs of FatBigot Towers, but it’s looking good for later in the week.
This is just a wild guess, but I suspect Poznan has warmed up over the last few days.
It’s been a very cold December for Northern Ireland too. I can’t remember that last time it was so cold, this early into the winter. I’ve moved around the UK a bit, so I’m perhaps not the best judge. However, it’s been much colder than the previous two winters here and MUCH colder than the previous 5 in Southampton, UK.
Relax, it is only but weather. No trend here, move on, the world is warming.
The current state of the sun and its future suggest bumper years ahead for ski industry….20 spotless days and rising.
The pranksters on Olympus are toying with us. (As always.)
If it gets any warmer, we’re all going to freeze to death….
Although anecdotal evidence is “unscientific”, at some point you have to start paying attention to it, given the fairy tale of the `real’ scientific data (particularly Hansen et. al.) given by the adjusters.
I’m not sure what the European forecasts are for this winter, but NOAA has forecasted quite a warm winter for the Midwest -with both coasts near normal. I sure hope this is correct. In Northern Indiana we’ve seen enough cold and snow this autumn.
Here is the trendline for Antarctic freeze and melt dates:
http://climatesci.org/2008/12/08/are-there-long-term-trends-in-the-start-of-freeze-up-and-melt-of-antarctic-sea-ice/
Here is the trend line for Arctic freeze and melt dates:
http://climatesci.org/2008/12/04/are-there-long-term-trends-in-the-start-of-freeze-up-and-melt-of-arctic-sea-ice/
They are both flat.
A foot or so of snow around the middle of January in D.C. would be too much to ask for.
Yes, that NOAA forcast has been dead on incorrect so far for Kentucky…..been in the teens each morning and we have snow on the ground.
If this snow was falling as rain would we be so enthusiastic? What will result if it melts too fast? Many people still suffer from the delusion that global warming will result in hot weather and long sunny days. Warmer seas = more evaporation = more turbulence in the atmosphere = extreme weather. Ask yourself is this the norm?
Here in the UK we have had several examples of extreme weather over the last couple of years but Hey! its just a wet year….
Brian
Just returned from Austria (Vorarlberg in the west) to the Netherlands. Last year, as well this year, snowing started relatively early in November.
It’s interesting to read that the snow is piling up in “the south”.
We need some more here at 70 degrees north in Norway. We have so far got about an inch.
Could someone please send us some snow ? 🙂
Here is a sunspot update, there are some charts that are updated through the end of November. Also a short comment about what the weather was like the last time there were so few sunspots (Cold).
http://icecap.us/images/uploads/ssless_days.pdf
i have to admit, as a skeptic, if i go to this site:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=maxt&month=12&day=1&year=2008&submitted=Get+Records#recs
and look for “highest max” temps verses “lowest min” temps….we are having tons more max records than min records. of course this is just for the US, but it is at least anecdotally interesting. any thoughts?
Right, I’m sulking!
All this snow and we’re not going skiing this year (Poor, spare us a copper guv!)
I was talking to one of my local, Lincolnshire, farmers. Neither of us can remember when we last had such cold weather this early in winter.
Ther’ve been frosts virtually every morning for 2 weeks now.
OK, so it’s “weather” and not “climate”, but it’ll be interesting to see how the UK’s temperatures for November & December compare to previous years.