Welcome to another roundup of worldwide snow conditions together with prospects for the next seven days from the www.snow-forecast.com team.
New Zealand
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Since the last editorial, the weather pattern evolved much as expected with a cool southerly flow delivering mostly light showers - typically just a few cm of fresh snow around Queenstown and Wanaka resorts last weekend with 10cm of fresh snow on the upper slopes of Ruapehu. The snow showers have mostly died away and Turoa and Whakapapa are enjoying the best conditions of the season so far. Late on Sunday and into Monday there is a risk that a tropical low, currently near New Caledonia, will reach North Island. It looks rather likely that Northland will endure yet another spell of very wet easterly winds, once again with a risk of flooding. Right now the southern progress of that low is uncertain and it is certainly possible that it will reach Turoa and Whakapapa on Monday before the SW flow becomes established again. If the tropical air makes it that far, expect a period of NE winds and freezing levels rising to above the top of the lifts with wet snow high up and rain lower down. This risks making things icy as the cold air returns. Hopefully not, but our advice is to make the most of the next 2 or 3 days just in case. Conditions in the rest of NZ have changed very little in the past week and it could stay similar for the next several days too - cool, SW with a few showery bands. Much better news is the threat of a much stronger cold and snowy SW flow developing late in the week. Stay tuned to forecasts because the prospect of a tropical low meeting polar air can cause significant snowy weather to develop suddenly, but only if it tracks much further south than models currently predict.
Australia
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Much as in New Zealand, snow fell last weekend, but not in sufficient quantity to really change conditions. There is settled weather across all Australian resorts right now and it should stay this way for another five or six days. After that, look forward to the prospect of a disturbed and snowy SW flow to be established by Thursday.
European Alps
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Last week the European Alps turned much colder but there was less snowfall about than we expected because the Northerly flow didn't develop as strongly as forecast. With an anticyclone expected to stay off the French coast for the next seven days, the Alps should continue to see rather low temperatures for the time of year. Meanwhile, Britain should at last see some welcome summer sunshine. Around the middle of next week there is a reasonable chance that a deepening low pressure over central Europe will direct a strong NW flow accompanied by heavy snow over the Alpine glaciers, this falling mainly on the northern side of the divide. Strong winds and poor visibility look like being an unwanted side effect, but there could be some wintry conditions as the weather settles down again at the end of the week.
Andes
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South America continues to be THE place to be this summer. Pretty much everywhere saw significant new snow over the past week falling on bases that are typically twice as deep as the best on offer in Australia and New Zealand. Expect yet more of the same in the week ahead as a disturbed westerly airstream delivers snow showers and bands of continuous snow. No problem finding fresh snow, but keep a close eye on the forecast to identify the best of any weather windows - they may be quite brief.
Other News
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Best wishes,
Rob – www.snow-forecast.com
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