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.
From E.M.Smith (19:38:27) :
Whoever it is, I own you a beer (or three)…
-end quote
That was supposed to be “OWE” you a beer… Hard to type well when laughing and trying to change shirts…
Gonna get me some of that. Literally. I picked a great season to head over there! On your right! …. on your left! … getting airrrrrrrrrrrr ….. swoooooosh.
Sweet!
Okay, why is it snowing on my browser window? Rather round snowflakes, more like snow pellets (graupel or “soft hail”). Images like http://wattsupwiththat.com/wp-content/plugins/snow/images/0.gif are piling up.
Cute, but don’t leave for too long.
Fanaticists in Poznan — what about the berserkers at Stansted?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/3684003/Climate-change-protesters-wreak-havoc-at-Stansted.html
The OWS guys say it will be 81 below in SIberia this week.
Is that cold or what?
Do they still show Siberia warmer than normal?
The snow means there is more H20, it does not mean it is colder.
Anyway, whats the current weather got to do with climate trends? :p
November had similar anecdotal/unusual cold spells reported all over the media yet no sign of it in the MSU records. So what are we trying to prove here? That the weather is unpredictable?
There is always somewhere in the world a weather related record of some kind. In the past the media jumped on unusual warm records. Now that we have been saturated with that, the media are keen to report the opposite.
Watch my words, soon AGW skepticism will become in vogue in the MSM (and rightly so, I may add)
soon AGW skepticism will become in vogue in the MSM (and rightly so, I may add)
I’d like to think so, but more likely, the explanation for it, when given, will be that it’s due to climate change, or “climate chaos” caused by (whate else) man’s evil burning of fossil fuels. The MSM have failed in their mission to report the news, giving us alarmist drivel and AGW propaganda instead. Sadly enough, the days of investigative reporting of the likes of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward are long gone.
The fact that it’s snow when it might “normally” have been rain means it’s cold enough at ground level for the H2O to remain frozen. So yeah, it’s probably colder, or it could be that there is more precip this year than other recent years.
Oh, no, it’s too late: Nothing left to do now except kiss our asses goodbye!
Sadly enough, the days of investigative reporting of the likes of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward are long gone.
Don’t tell this to “Deep Climate” and “Follow the Money”.
Shovelled out this morning in suburbs of Denver. About 4″. Just getting my back into the Christmas spirit.
Unfortunately the snow is melting after it hits the bottom of the screen. Anthony, could you please arrange the snow to accumulate (I suppose you just turn the thermostat down) so that my screen gets all white if I stay long enough at WUWT?
On a more serious note: On Safari it falls from left to right. On Firefox from right to left. Is this the unpredictability of weather?
I think we can safely say now that this will be the eighth-hottest year of the millennium
Now is snowing again in Tourin (Italy). This is the 4th snowfall in last 15 days. I never saw it before.
On next 5 days, Dolomites and Alpi will taste others 50-100 cm of fantastic snow!
W Global Warming!!
here is a link so no one will think i am making up stories LOL
http://www.record-eagle.com/opinion/local_story_344084133.html?keyword=topstory
(Rare 50 year Arctic Blast Sets Sights On Southern California.
We are in a pre-1950 type pattern, “said Martin. “We know we are due for a winter storm sometime this year. The type we may be dealing with will be ranked up there with the known years before 1950, which set record low daytime temperatures into the forecast region. With this, may come low elevation snow.” …)
http://www.owsweather.com/pr120808a.html
WELL THERE GOES THE PRICE OF PRODUCE!!!!! and fruit too dang. back to eating rabbit.
DOH!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/09/poznan-copenhagen-global-warming-targets-climate-change
(Only an unprecedented “planned economic recession” might be enough. The current financial woes would not come close.)
(separate study published this year showed the ability of forests to soak up anthropogenic carbon dioxide – that caused by human activity – was weakening, because the changing length of the seasons alters the time when trees switch from being a sink of carbon to a source.)
Because it is cooling!
Leif Svalgaard “the 10 toes are made of clay and iron”
explains much
Jeff Alberts (07:37:29) :
The fact that it’s snow when it might “normally” have been rain means it’s cold enough at ground level for the H2O to remain frozen. So yeah, it’s probably colder, or it could be that there is more precip this year than other recent years.
Snowfall does not equate to it being colder, you cannot determine the temperature from the amount of snowfall, ie more snow must mean lower temps.
Snow melt is dependent on temp, but then you have to take into effect ground temperature as well as air, hence why you often get snow staying for longer in the UK in Jan onwards when the ground has had time to properly cool over time to a depth.
Regards
Andy
Snowfall does not equate to it being colder, you cannot determine the temperature from the amount of snowfall, ie more snow must mean lower temps.
So then, lack of snowfall doesn’t equate to it being warmer?
But, according to AGW ideology, lack of snow is, in fact, one of the consequences of global warming. Here in New Hampshire, the ski industry is always mentioned as being “under threat” from global warming, and is one of the reasons our own mini-governator signed on to RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Last year, with close to record-breaking snowfall, the ski industry had a banner season. Ohhh, they say, but that was just a “natural variation”. Nothing disproves AGW/CC. It is indeed a quasi-religion based on pseudo-science. The cap-and-trade fraud is now here, in the “Live free or die” state.
Warming messes up the weather. Where there is a huge body of water that can be used to create a lake effect, the windward land will get dramatically more snowfall, if global warming is to blame. At the same time, some areas where there are no lakes or oceans will get dramatically less snow, also as a result of climate change.
When both of these effects obtain, the warming is dramatic. Deniers don’t want to admit that global warming can also mean more snow, in a few places.
Another big dump in the Alps!! the 5th actually since november.
http://picasaweb.google.de/minapascalsabineandi/SchneefLleDezember2008#5278440946019421170
lokally over 1.5 m fresh snow, and more to come!
best skiopening in many, many , many years
temperatures have been normal during fall in north west and middel europe, and are now somewhat cooler dan normal.
in zwitserland and italy there is on average more than 300% more snow than normal.. ..
http://www.slf.ch/lawineninfo/schneeinfo/hsm/index_DE
ive been skiing in the alps for 25 years and been a skiinstructor for 8 but never was there so much snow before X-mas.
..
from Ed Darrell (15:03:02) :
Deniers don’t want to admit that global warming can also mean more snow, in a few places.
-end quote
“Deniers”? Alert Alert!!! The use of “deniers” flags you as, um, less than objective… Try ‘skeptic’, it’s more accurate and won’t get you flagged.
And your ‘few places’ now includes: Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, South America up to southern Brazil (yes, snow in Brazil!), South Africa, China, Mongolia, Middle East (including the snow in Iran and Israel a while back), Europe, Alaska, the middle of the U.S. and heading into the North East. Oh, and some of the U.S. southeast and parts of Canada. As soon as Russia catches up it will be darned near a clean sweep. Oh, and some of the U.S. west got dumped on pretty good too, though California tends to cold drought rather than precipitation.
Google “2008 record cold snow” and become enlightened. We are in the very early stages of a weather / climate inflection to the cold side.
It is very funny to watch the AGW advocates try to explain that cold is warm.
[Mike (17:11:33) :
I swear I had read that Switzerland basically had given up on skiing due to no snow. Now, this may have been a few years ago but people were blaming global warming. The planet truly is beyond our comprehension.]
I’ve skied Europe pretty much every year since 1980.
My experiences:
1980 – 1982: cold and lots of early snow. Like now in fact.
1983: very mild autumn and first snow just before Christmas. Poor snow in the valleys most of the winter. Reasonable snow based on blizzards in January and early February. Little from then on until Easter.
1984 – 1988: cold but little snow early – increasing snow coming from January on into the spring. Famously cold Christmas/New Year in 1984/5. Bus driver had to put antifreeze INSIDE THE PETROL TANK TO STOP FUEL SOLIDFYING!
1988 – 1990: two famous years where the Alps were covered by high pressure for two months and more – really poor snow until late in the season. Exceptional blizzards in February 1990 – up to 3.5m in one week with resorts evacuated.
1991 – 1995: pretty standard early snow – 1990/91 and 1992/3 exceptional early snow, other years good snow January to make the season.
1996 – 2002: Sketchy early snow leading to thin coverage later in the season. Exceptional blizzards in February 1999 – two weeks continuous snowfall with many avalanche-related deaths.
2003 – 2007: mild but some years had good snow in January, notably 2004. Superb snow and cold late February 2005. 2007 particularly mild and poor.
2008: exceptionally good early snow – widespread cover early November.
2008/9: exceptionally good early snow: first major fall end of October, late November widespread snow to low levels now being topped up.
This is anecdotal. But it’d be interesting to go back through the records to see what snowfall patterns were in other sunspot minimum years in Europe.
Ed Darrell:
Warming messes up the weather.
Care to expound a bit more on this Ed? What about cooling – wouldn’t that “mess up the weather” too?
If the weather is “messed up”, then does that mean no matter what weather we have it proves global warming. If nothing disproves global warming (man-made, of course), wouldn’t that make it more a religion than science?
Just asking. We “deniers” are a curious bunch.
Of course cooling would mess up the weather, Bruce. The temperatures have been going up, however, not down. When that happens, it’s called “warming.” (Who was it complained about the “deniers” tag? Do we really have to get more explicit?)
Google “climate change,” and you’ll discover that warming produces such disruptions in the weather (there’s a difference between climate and weather, but it’s often too subtle for people with a denialist lens in their eye to see).
We have more snow. We don’t have a change in the trend to warming of the climate. Don’t confuse the two. In climate change, highs will be higher, lows will be lower, dramatic weather events more dramatic.
Just before the Titanic slipped under the water, the stern rose high out of the water. A few sinking denialists claimed that meant the emergency was over. “See? All those people are higher out of the water now than they were a few minutes ago.”