Welcome to the latest roundup of Worldwide snow conditions, together with prospects for the week ahead.
It is still possible to ski at just three resorts in New Zealand. The weather there has improved at last but sadly the season is all but over. The week ahead will bring heavy snowfalls to the mountains of Eastern Europe: places like the Austrian Alps, the Balkans, the Carpathians and even the Pindos Mountains of Greece. La Nina storms continue to clatter into the Pacific NW bringing regular early season snowfalls and the promise of a great season punctuated by stormy days when it is best to stay indoors. The first significant snows of autumn have fallen across the Rockies and the web cams of resorts across Colorado look superb.
New Zealand
=========
New Zealand has been experiencing unusually unsettled and windy spring weather. There has been fresh overnight snow followed by great spring skiing conditions on the big North Island resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa. Tiny, but wonderful Broken River is the only South Island resort that is still open for skiing. Expect all three NZ resorts to be busy over Labor Weekend. The week after looks good too, so it is a real shame that Whakapapa and Turoa will close on Monday 22nd - that's early by their standards. Westerlies won't be quite as strong as they have been over the past few weeks and there will be a good mix of sunny days and snow showers to keep the pistes fresh and at BR, more snow and less wind to end their season. They had another 25cm of powder yesterday and the upper field now boasts a snow base of an astonishing 250cm. With 70cm of snow at the bottom, they could stay open for several more weeks if the demand is there. There was a really big earthquake off Milford Sound last week - luckily too remote to do any damage, but given the condition of the snow-pack, I would be surprised if it didn't trigger a bunch of avalanches in the back country.
Australia
======
Ski resorts have all closed for the season. The snow pack on the high plateaus is still about 70cm deep. If you are heading up there for ski touring over the weekend, bear in mind that it is very windy on top and mild right now (Friday am) but these inclement conditions will soon ease. Expect a fine weekend before unsettled conditions move in again early next week.
South America
===========
We are not aware of any resorts that are still operating in the Andes. Never mind, it has been a great season. At about this time of year, South American skiers used to look forward to the opening of Chacaltaya in Bolivia, the only resort in South America to operate over 'summer', with a season corresponding to North American resorts. Sadly, the glacier at Chacaltaya has melted and the resort has officially closed, bringing an end to skiing at the highest resort in the world. I suppose there is a chance that the frustrated locals from nearby La Paz still venture up there after a heavy fall, so I should mention that the week ahead will be a very snowy one and that we will continue to provide detailed forecasts for the former ski area.
European Alps
==========
With an anticyclone over Western Europe drifting into western Russia, we will again see cold and snowy weather descending down its eastern flank over the next 7 days. Prospects for new snowfall improve as you head east with nothing much expected in France or western Switzerland, but moderate snow for the glaciers of Austria, and heavy snowfalls for the mountains of Eastern and South Eastern Europe as a low pressure forms over the Balkans.
Eastern Europe
===========
The present anticyclone over Britain is moving away but it may soon be replaced by another. If this 'blocking' weather pattern continues long into the winter season - with high pressure over Western Europe, it could be bad news for skiers heading to France, Switzerland and the Pyrennes. In such seasons, snow conditions in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and especially Lebanon tend to be much better. It is far too early to worry about the present ski season in the Alps and the weather models are hinting that there will be heavy snow over the French Alps and Pyrenees in nine or ten days time.
Even at mountains near Athens, we should see the first snow of the season falling on Mt Parnassos on Tuesday as freezing levels there briefly drop below 2000m - just a dusting here, but quite heavy snow at some resorts in Northern Greece and Bulgaria - 25cm of snow expected at Bansko, for example. Much further East, away from the moderating effects of the sea, temperatures in Central Asia are already falling fast. Temperatures at Chimbulak near Alma Ata in Kazakstan are falling below -10C every night with heavy snow forecast early next week before it becomes fine. With Western Europe suffering from a nasty mix of uncertain snow and high prices, the future is surely bright for obscure snowsure places like Chimbulak - if they were more popular, such places could open much earlier in the season than they presently do.
North America
==========
La Nina conditions dominate the weather patterns again with further depressions running off the Pacific into the high mountains of SW Canada and NW USA. Expect this pattern to continue right through the ski season with the central Rockies probably seeing the best of North American conditions because they are less vulnerable than coastal areas to La Nina warm spells, but far north enough to pick up regular storms. The last few days have seen heavy snow falling across the resorts of Colorado and Wyoming, transforming summer into winter - seemingly skipping fall altogether. Wet autumn snow has fallen around Lake Tahoe too but we don't expect it to survive a return to very mild weather next week.
We will be providing more detailed prospects for North American prospects from November 1st.
The Snow-forecast teamW
Friday, 19 October 2007
Friday, 12 October 2007
World Snow News 15: 12th October 2007
Welcome to the latest roundup of Worldwide snow conditions with prospects for the week ahead. From now on, the editorial will be a day later, to make it more timely for European and American readers heading away for the weekend.
Late October and late May are the nadirs of the skiing calendar. October is too late for much skiing in the Southern hemisphere resorts and too early for the Northern Hemisphere ones. At Snow-forecast HQ, in Wales, we give up on the idea of snow sports for a while and take advantage of the fact that this prime times of year for surfing. If you are a European skier/snowboarder who does likewise, I am sure that you are planning a weekend at the coast – conditions are already excellent at Europe's Atlantic beaches and the weekend prospects are better still with light or offshore winds and a strong groundswell running.
New Zealand
==========
There is currently little obvious influence of the strengthening La Nina. This October has been a lot like October 2006, and that was an El Nino year.
New Zealand has endured another week of weather that is most politely described as "interesting" (in much the same way as you could politely describe the refereeing decisions of the All Blacks France game as "very interesting"). The weather has been horrendous, with damaging gales and widespread heavy rain. This has brought a mixture of rain and snow to the few ski resorts that remain open. Without a shadow of doubt, the happiest skiers anywhere in the world last week were at Broken River. They received almost 1.5m of snow over just a few days, including 45cm on Tuesday night. Kudos to the mostly Canadian staff and the local clubbies who have kept the facilities open for long enough to enjoy the best conditions of the season. Various heli-ski operations are also still offering access to the abundant white stuff – Alpine Guides of Methven and Mt Hutt Heliski are the closest ones to Broken River, while down in the Southern Lakes region, Harris Mountain, Back Country and Alpine Heliski are still running even though the local ski resorts have closed. Coronet Peak, the resort closest to Queenstown, has announced a huge investment in snow making facilities to help compensate for their relatively low altitude. Weather prospects for the week ahead are dominated by a vigorous depression diving across South Island on Saturday as it deepens. Gale force northerlies ahead of that low are not going to be much fun at Turoa and Whakapapa but on Sunday at least the rain will turn to snow. Cold southerlies behind the low will briefly sweep snow showers to just 500m in the South and East of South Island – good news for Mt Hutt. The remainder of the week looks like it will be dominated by disturbed westerlies, tending South West and eventually weaker South. Just as last week, the weather mix will include new snow but you will need to study the detailed forecasts if you are do make the most of the opportunities when the local weather is fair and the wind is light – Tuesday and Thursday currently look like they will be the best days on Ruapehu.
Australia
==========
Ski resorts are all closed now. However, there is a decent base (1m) and fresh snow across the wide and high plateaus areas that are famous for spring ski touring. Temperatures have fallen more than 10 degrees in the past day, so expect hard snow conditions and thundery snow showers clearing. If you are up in the Snowy Mountains this spring, watch out for for attacking magpies. I was attacked once – it further confirmed my suspicion that everything in Australia is dangerous – during the nesting season, even their humble magpie would kill you if it could! Another weather front will cross the region about Tuesday evening and this will bring further snowfalls about the tops. High pressure to follow and quickly rising freezing levels.
South America
==========
Not a great deal of late season skiing on offer in the Andes. In Argentina, only Las Lenas remains open, while in Chile, Antillanca closes on Sunday. The week ahead brings some rather localised dumps of snow with westerly winds across the South of the region. Aconcagua and neighboring resorts like Los Pentientes should see heavy snow in Sunday. In the far South of Argentina, Cerro Castor tends to enjoy one of the longest seasons of any resort in the Andes There is just 15cm of snow at the base station right now, but there is still 1m or so at the top and they should have cloud and light snow for this weekend – the last of the season which is a shame because there is further snow forecast for the following week.
European Alps
==========
The unseasonal snowfalls of September are a distant memory now. Mild and sunny days last week mean that the snow-line has retreated back up to normal elevations. A low sinking down across Eastern Europe right now means that there is the prospect of light snow on the glaciers of Austria on Friday night. Snowy again on Wednesday night but with fine weather between and to follow. The second of those two snowfalls should extend much further west, even as far as Tignes, and down to an elevation of about 2500m.
North America
==========
The week ahead brings typical La Nina conditions once again – successive depressions running off the Pacific into the high mountains of SW Canada and NW USA. An especially vigorous storm on Thursday looks like bringing widespread snow to fairly low elevations. This kind of weather pattern will ensure that ski resorts in these areas will get off to a very quick start this winter and are probably a much safer bet for a pre-Christmas trip than anywhere else. The only downside to La Nina winters is that it tends to be pretty mild close to the coast with a risk of rain rather than snow at low elevations. At places like Whistler, and Mt Washington on Vancouver Island, you tend to get a mixed bag with deep snow at the top of the mountain but rain at times at the bottom that can make it slushy or icy at times on lower runs. Further inland, it tends to be all snow that falls.
We will be providing more detailed prospects for North American prospects from November 1st.
The Snow-Forecast.com editorial team
Thursday, 4 October 2007
World Snow News 14: 4th October 2007
Welcome to the latest roundup of Worldwide snow conditions with prospects for the week ahead.
The start of October usually marks the end of skiing at most resorts in the Southern Hemisphere. More often than not, the snow cover is pretty patchy by this time of year so ski resorts announce their closing dates well in advance. Otherwise, they risk employing staff too far into the uncertain spring ski season. Sometimes the weather doesn't play the game and resorts have already closed before the best conditions of the season arrive. With huge snowfalls across the mountains of New Zealand in the past few days, many resort managers at places that have closed up already will no doubt be kicking themselves. Happily for skiers, not everywhere closed at the same time.
New Zealand
==========
Last week we gave a pretty accurate forecast for New Zealand. Back then, conditions were looking dire - with a warm NW gale and rain to high elevations. If you hadn't been following the forecasts, the big dump of snow and low temperatures that followed would have been a bit of a shock. Turoa and Whakapapa saw about 20cm of snow but many areas on the South Island did much better - unfortunately most of them had already closed. Notably, Broken River has stayed open long enough to enjoy a 70cm dump over two days - the heaviest snowfall of the season. Mt Hutt saw 10cm or more but the wind has been an ongoing problem there - it is generally much windier to the lee of the Southern Alps than it is around Arthur's Pass. The good news means that the snow remains untracked, the not so good news is that there is already another NW gale blowing from Canterbury north to about Manawatu. Further South, over a metre of snow fell around Fiordland to low levels with 20cm spilling over to the Remarkables. Looking great for fresh tracks at Cardrona too. Presumably, there is also deep new snow up at Treble Cone, so it seems they closed just a few days too early which couldn't have gone down well with the season pass holders. With so few resorts open and so much new snow in the back country people will be tempted to go exploring instead. Be extra vigilant if you do head away from the open resorts because the avalanche risk is very high right now. Looking forward to the week ahead, we have a belt of fairly extreme NW gales ahead of another weather front with pretty disturbed strong Westerlies to follow. With such mobile and unsettled weather, keep a close eye on the local forecasts to take advantage of any weather windows. Once again, there is significant new snow forecast, especially high up, but with so much wind about and very variable freezing levels it will be tricky to be in the right place at the right time. With a strong La Nina developing, expect a short spring and a long warm summer in New Zealand with more easterlies than usual causing distinctive foggy days in Wellington harbour.
Australia
======
Following the mild spell, there is very little skiing on offer and only Thredbo looks set to stay open beyond this weekend. There is still about a metre of spring snow across the high tops, fine for ski touring, but things are patchy lower down and distinctly green at resort levels. It is breezy (60km/h) with weather right now and it will stay that way through Friday. Just the chance of just a few snow flurries around the Snowy Mountains on Saturday as a weak front goes through. After thatclears, the prospect of a few fine days to end the season with cooler temperatures and night frosts before another front crosses around Wednesday evening.
South America
===========
Again, just a handful of resorts remain open with spring skiing conditions widespread, though still with unseasonably deep bases as a result of the snowy winter. A brief cold blast should bring welcome fresh snow, heaviest in the South of the region on Friday and Saturday with excellent cold and sunny conditions to follow. We don't expect significant snowfalls to extend much further north than La Hoya - so staying mostly fine around Santiago
European Alps
==========
Summer and early autumn have been distinctly wintry across the glaciers of the Alps. It's much too early to suggest that this means that a great winter will follow - all too often recent seasons have seen a big blocking high pressure build across Southern Europe delaying the start of the winter season. While there is plenty of snow up on the glaciers right now, a return to seasonal temperatures has melted most of the new snow below about 2500m. Fairly cloudy weather right now should clear away over the next few days and next week should be fine and sunny at the glaciers. Free-air freezing levels gradually falling - from almost 4000m right now to 3000m by the middle of the week as pressure builds from the West. Cold and northerly air streaming around the top of the big European anticyclone will affect Scandinavia at times but it should stay to the east of the Alps, but watch out for a subtle shift westwards that could bring some snow to Austrian glaciers. With a big blocking high over Western Europe and some deepish autumnal lows now generating groundswells in the Atlantic, there are steadily improving conditions at the Atlantic surf beaches - for more details see www-surf-forecast.com.
North America
==========
Over the past few days, our snow alert system has been busy sending warnings of new snow for the Canadian Rockies - the first time this season. With a strong La Nina, we would expect a steady stream of Pacific storms pouring into the Pacific NW. This is just what the forecast for the next 7 days shows with Whistler bearing the full brunt on Saturday night and then again on Tuesday and yet again on Friday. Too mild for snow at resort level this close to the coast and this early in the season, but above mid-station we expect to see the accumulation of another 50cm of fresh snow by Wednesday. As these weather systems push deep into the continent on a NE track, many resorts in the Pacific NW and the northern Rockies will enjoy excellent early season snowfalls.
We will be providing more detail for North American prospects from November 1st, after the Southern Hemisphere season has ended.
The Snow-forecast team
The start of October usually marks the end of skiing at most resorts in the Southern Hemisphere. More often than not, the snow cover is pretty patchy by this time of year so ski resorts announce their closing dates well in advance. Otherwise, they risk employing staff too far into the uncertain spring ski season. Sometimes the weather doesn't play the game and resorts have already closed before the best conditions of the season arrive. With huge snowfalls across the mountains of New Zealand in the past few days, many resort managers at places that have closed up already will no doubt be kicking themselves. Happily for skiers, not everywhere closed at the same time.
New Zealand
==========
Last week we gave a pretty accurate forecast for New Zealand. Back then, conditions were looking dire - with a warm NW gale and rain to high elevations. If you hadn't been following the forecasts, the big dump of snow and low temperatures that followed would have been a bit of a shock. Turoa and Whakapapa saw about 20cm of snow but many areas on the South Island did much better - unfortunately most of them had already closed. Notably, Broken River has stayed open long enough to enjoy a 70cm dump over two days - the heaviest snowfall of the season. Mt Hutt saw 10cm or more but the wind has been an ongoing problem there - it is generally much windier to the lee of the Southern Alps than it is around Arthur's Pass. The good news means that the snow remains untracked, the not so good news is that there is already another NW gale blowing from Canterbury north to about Manawatu. Further South, over a metre of snow fell around Fiordland to low levels with 20cm spilling over to the Remarkables. Looking great for fresh tracks at Cardrona too. Presumably, there is also deep new snow up at Treble Cone, so it seems they closed just a few days too early which couldn't have gone down well with the season pass holders. With so few resorts open and so much new snow in the back country people will be tempted to go exploring instead. Be extra vigilant if you do head away from the open resorts because the avalanche risk is very high right now. Looking forward to the week ahead, we have a belt of fairly extreme NW gales ahead of another weather front with pretty disturbed strong Westerlies to follow. With such mobile and unsettled weather, keep a close eye on the local forecasts to take advantage of any weather windows. Once again, there is significant new snow forecast, especially high up, but with so much wind about and very variable freezing levels it will be tricky to be in the right place at the right time. With a strong La Nina developing, expect a short spring and a long warm summer in New Zealand with more easterlies than usual causing distinctive foggy days in Wellington harbour.
Australia
======
Following the mild spell, there is very little skiing on offer and only Thredbo looks set to stay open beyond this weekend. There is still about a metre of spring snow across the high tops, fine for ski touring, but things are patchy lower down and distinctly green at resort levels. It is breezy (60km/h) with weather right now and it will stay that way through Friday. Just the chance of just a few snow flurries around the Snowy Mountains on Saturday as a weak front goes through. After thatclears, the prospect of a few fine days to end the season with cooler temperatures and night frosts before another front crosses around Wednesday evening.
South America
===========
Again, just a handful of resorts remain open with spring skiing conditions widespread, though still with unseasonably deep bases as a result of the snowy winter. A brief cold blast should bring welcome fresh snow, heaviest in the South of the region on Friday and Saturday with excellent cold and sunny conditions to follow. We don't expect significant snowfalls to extend much further north than La Hoya - so staying mostly fine around Santiago
European Alps
==========
Summer and early autumn have been distinctly wintry across the glaciers of the Alps. It's much too early to suggest that this means that a great winter will follow - all too often recent seasons have seen a big blocking high pressure build across Southern Europe delaying the start of the winter season. While there is plenty of snow up on the glaciers right now, a return to seasonal temperatures has melted most of the new snow below about 2500m. Fairly cloudy weather right now should clear away over the next few days and next week should be fine and sunny at the glaciers. Free-air freezing levels gradually falling - from almost 4000m right now to 3000m by the middle of the week as pressure builds from the West. Cold and northerly air streaming around the top of the big European anticyclone will affect Scandinavia at times but it should stay to the east of the Alps, but watch out for a subtle shift westwards that could bring some snow to Austrian glaciers. With a big blocking high over Western Europe and some deepish autumnal lows now generating groundswells in the Atlantic, there are steadily improving conditions at the Atlantic surf beaches - for more details see www-surf-forecast.com.
North America
==========
Over the past few days, our snow alert system has been busy sending warnings of new snow for the Canadian Rockies - the first time this season. With a strong La Nina, we would expect a steady stream of Pacific storms pouring into the Pacific NW. This is just what the forecast for the next 7 days shows with Whistler bearing the full brunt on Saturday night and then again on Tuesday and yet again on Friday. Too mild for snow at resort level this close to the coast and this early in the season, but above mid-station we expect to see the accumulation of another 50cm of fresh snow by Wednesday. As these weather systems push deep into the continent on a NE track, many resorts in the Pacific NW and the northern Rockies will enjoy excellent early season snowfalls.
We will be providing more detail for North American prospects from November 1st, after the Southern Hemisphere season has ended.
The Snow-forecast team
World Snow News 13: 27th September 2007
Welcome to the latest summary of snow conditions around the World, together with prospects for the week ahead.
Sea surface temperatures in the Pacific show that a strengthening La Niña threatens to exert a big influence on global weather patterns over the coming months - with a peak effect expected in January 2008. There are implications for the ski season ahead. La Niña occurs when the tropical seas of the Pacific off the coast of Latin America are anomalously cool, while the waters become warmer towards Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Unlike El Niño, La Niña events tend to be rather brief - lasting only a year. By far the strongest effects are felt in the Pacific Basin, but meteorologists are increasingly confident that "tele-connection" between weather systems can manifest itself around the globe; for example, La Niña has already been implicated in Britain's dismal summer as well as the African floods.
Previous La Niña events have tended to cause very dry conditions in the SW United States. We are not expecting a great ski season in Southern California or Arizona where there is already a chronic drought. In marked contrast, the Pacific NW should see more frequent and heavier snow storms than usual - Washington State tends to do exceptionally well but there are usually better than average snow seasons as far away as Banff and Revelstoke in the East, and Valdez in Alaska to the north. Surprisingly, Whistler hasn't done nearly so well out of recent La Niñas than it did during the ones on the 1970's - due to warmer temperatures leading to more rain rather than more snow at low coastal locations. Neither La Niña or El Niño have been proven to have much effect on snowfall at California's Lake Tahoe, Utah or Colorado apart from perhaps a slower than usual start to the seasons around Tahoe - be cautious if you plan to ski there before January. Across the continent, La Niña tends to bring snowier than normal winters to the higher resorts in Vermont - places like Stowe - but doesn't seem to make much difference elsewhere in the East. In New Zealand, La Niña usually heralds an early spring and this year seem to be no exception. Through intangible tele-connections, it usually has a similar early spring effect in NW Europe, but this region is much more profoundly affected by something much closer - the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). More on the forecast state of the NAO and what that means for Alpine prospects another time.
European Alps
==========
Three days ago our computers automatically dispatched so many 72hr snow alerts, for so many European resorts, that we had to double check in case something had gone badly wrong. As I write this editorial at lunchtime on Thursday, 72 hours later, it is snowing right across the Alps down to 1500m. There are already widespread reports of 10-30cm of fresh snow at the glacier resorts and the webcams show that whiteout conditions are widespread. In short, we have near winter conditions. Unlike the previous cold plunges, this one is further West and so it is the Swiss, French and Italian Alps that will see the lowest temperatures and heaviest snow over the next couple of days. This cold blast extends across the Massif Central and into the Pyrenees and it should briefly be cold enough to bring snowfall to the ~1500m tops of the Jura, Vosges and Black Forest too. Yesterday, the same airmass affected the Scottish Highlands, once again bringing blizzard conditions with 60km/h winds and temperatures of -3C on the summits and widespread frost to rural Britain. Some great conditions for skiers heading up to the Alpine glaciers as the weather clears away in a day or two. After that, freezing levels will return to their seasonal levels of about 3500m. By Wednesday and our brief taste of winter will be over.
New Zealand
==========
Spring passes are about to go on sale for the Mt Ruapehu resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa. Usually, these represent an excellent deal, offering effectively a month of great skiing for not very much money, just as everywhere else down-under is closing. Conditions are typically uncrowded and the weather is usually more settled than in winter - generally offering excellent corn snow with occasional dumps of fresh snow after southerly blasts. The only drawback with this excellent prospect is that Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano and a few days ago it briefly burst into life. A "small" steam eruption covered the upper mountain in ash and moved boulders - one crushing the legs of a climber as it crashed into a mountain hut. Elsewhere on the mountain, a groomer was shocked to see a lahar (river of ice, water and debris) go by. The mountain accommodation was evacuated and the resorts took the precaution of closing for a day (just one day mind you). Apparently, its back to business as usual and skiing on Ruapehu is as safe (or as dangerous) as it was before. I can't blame them for wanting to reopen to soon because there was fresh snow high up and sunny weather too. Skiers have been asked not to venture above the upper boundaries of the resorts for the time being. Make the most of Friday and Saturday because strengthening westerly winds will arrive on Sunday bringing some new snow but a disturbed weather pattern into next week. There was also new snow last Monday/Tuesday at Mt Hutt, Broken Rover and Ohau as well as at number of other resorts that had already closed for the season. The strong westerly airflow will also affect South Island resorts over the next seven days - Saturday looks especially windy - so expect very variable snow conditions. There will be some new snow about, but timing will be everything if you are to make the most of a brief ridge of high pressure mid-week before the westerly gets going once again
Australia
======
The ski season is nearly over in Australia. A thundery cold front is clearing away from the Snowy Mountains on Thursday evening, associated with a deep low just south of Tasmania. Snow showers with snow to low levels follow behind this front but with strong to gale west or northwest winds. Sunday and Monday should see good skiing conditions, if a bit breezy, before it turns warmer on Tuesday. Wednesday should see the weather pattern we have right now pretty much repeating itself. Expect another thundery cold front and a return to cool temperatures and further snow showers.
South America
===========
The Three Valleys resorts of La Parva and El Colorado near Santiago in Chile have now closed for the season but Valle Nevado is still open and they are hosting a stage of the Snowboard FIS Wold Cup Boardercross competition until September 29th. Excellent spring skiing here and at any other resorts that are open - Chillan still reports a 3.8m base on its upper slopes so they won't be closing soon because of a lack of snow. The next seven days there should be fine and breezy everywhere with a dry westerly flow. No new snow is forecast except in the very far South - Cerro Castor is your best bet for fresh tracks - it currently has about a 1m base and will see a lot more cloud and bands of sleet and snow in the days ahead.
Sea surface temperatures in the Pacific show that a strengthening La Niña threatens to exert a big influence on global weather patterns over the coming months - with a peak effect expected in January 2008. There are implications for the ski season ahead. La Niña occurs when the tropical seas of the Pacific off the coast of Latin America are anomalously cool, while the waters become warmer towards Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Unlike El Niño, La Niña events tend to be rather brief - lasting only a year. By far the strongest effects are felt in the Pacific Basin, but meteorologists are increasingly confident that "tele-connection" between weather systems can manifest itself around the globe; for example, La Niña has already been implicated in Britain's dismal summer as well as the African floods.
Previous La Niña events have tended to cause very dry conditions in the SW United States. We are not expecting a great ski season in Southern California or Arizona where there is already a chronic drought. In marked contrast, the Pacific NW should see more frequent and heavier snow storms than usual - Washington State tends to do exceptionally well but there are usually better than average snow seasons as far away as Banff and Revelstoke in the East, and Valdez in Alaska to the north. Surprisingly, Whistler hasn't done nearly so well out of recent La Niñas than it did during the ones on the 1970's - due to warmer temperatures leading to more rain rather than more snow at low coastal locations. Neither La Niña or El Niño have been proven to have much effect on snowfall at California's Lake Tahoe, Utah or Colorado apart from perhaps a slower than usual start to the seasons around Tahoe - be cautious if you plan to ski there before January. Across the continent, La Niña tends to bring snowier than normal winters to the higher resorts in Vermont - places like Stowe - but doesn't seem to make much difference elsewhere in the East. In New Zealand, La Niña usually heralds an early spring and this year seem to be no exception. Through intangible tele-connections, it usually has a similar early spring effect in NW Europe, but this region is much more profoundly affected by something much closer - the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). More on the forecast state of the NAO and what that means for Alpine prospects another time.
European Alps
==========
Three days ago our computers automatically dispatched so many 72hr snow alerts, for so many European resorts, that we had to double check in case something had gone badly wrong. As I write this editorial at lunchtime on Thursday, 72 hours later, it is snowing right across the Alps down to 1500m. There are already widespread reports of 10-30cm of fresh snow at the glacier resorts and the webcams show that whiteout conditions are widespread. In short, we have near winter conditions. Unlike the previous cold plunges, this one is further West and so it is the Swiss, French and Italian Alps that will see the lowest temperatures and heaviest snow over the next couple of days. This cold blast extends across the Massif Central and into the Pyrenees and it should briefly be cold enough to bring snowfall to the ~1500m tops of the Jura, Vosges and Black Forest too. Yesterday, the same airmass affected the Scottish Highlands, once again bringing blizzard conditions with 60km/h winds and temperatures of -3C on the summits and widespread frost to rural Britain. Some great conditions for skiers heading up to the Alpine glaciers as the weather clears away in a day or two. After that, freezing levels will return to their seasonal levels of about 3500m. By Wednesday and our brief taste of winter will be over.
New Zealand
==========
Spring passes are about to go on sale for the Mt Ruapehu resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa. Usually, these represent an excellent deal, offering effectively a month of great skiing for not very much money, just as everywhere else down-under is closing. Conditions are typically uncrowded and the weather is usually more settled than in winter - generally offering excellent corn snow with occasional dumps of fresh snow after southerly blasts. The only drawback with this excellent prospect is that Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano and a few days ago it briefly burst into life. A "small" steam eruption covered the upper mountain in ash and moved boulders - one crushing the legs of a climber as it crashed into a mountain hut. Elsewhere on the mountain, a groomer was shocked to see a lahar (river of ice, water and debris) go by. The mountain accommodation was evacuated and the resorts took the precaution of closing for a day (just one day mind you). Apparently, its back to business as usual and skiing on Ruapehu is as safe (or as dangerous) as it was before. I can't blame them for wanting to reopen to soon because there was fresh snow high up and sunny weather too. Skiers have been asked not to venture above the upper boundaries of the resorts for the time being. Make the most of Friday and Saturday because strengthening westerly winds will arrive on Sunday bringing some new snow but a disturbed weather pattern into next week. There was also new snow last Monday/Tuesday at Mt Hutt, Broken Rover and Ohau as well as at number of other resorts that had already closed for the season. The strong westerly airflow will also affect South Island resorts over the next seven days - Saturday looks especially windy - so expect very variable snow conditions. There will be some new snow about, but timing will be everything if you are to make the most of a brief ridge of high pressure mid-week before the westerly gets going once again
Australia
======
The ski season is nearly over in Australia. A thundery cold front is clearing away from the Snowy Mountains on Thursday evening, associated with a deep low just south of Tasmania. Snow showers with snow to low levels follow behind this front but with strong to gale west or northwest winds. Sunday and Monday should see good skiing conditions, if a bit breezy, before it turns warmer on Tuesday. Wednesday should see the weather pattern we have right now pretty much repeating itself. Expect another thundery cold front and a return to cool temperatures and further snow showers.
South America
===========
The Three Valleys resorts of La Parva and El Colorado near Santiago in Chile have now closed for the season but Valle Nevado is still open and they are hosting a stage of the Snowboard FIS Wold Cup Boardercross competition until September 29th. Excellent spring skiing here and at any other resorts that are open - Chillan still reports a 3.8m base on its upper slopes so they won't be closing soon because of a lack of snow. The next seven days there should be fine and breezy everywhere with a dry westerly flow. No new snow is forecast except in the very far South - Cerro Castor is your best bet for fresh tracks - it currently has about a 1m base and will see a lot more cloud and bands of sleet and snow in the days ahead.
Monday, 24 September 2007
World Snow News 10: 6th September 2007
Welcome to another review of snow conditions with prospects for the next seven days from www.snow-forecast.com.
A few smaller southern resorts have already closed for the season. Tiffindell in
New Zealand
=========
Last week we predicted that New Zealand would see a warm NW winds give way
to heavy snowfalls on Tuesday. I'm happy to report that is exactly what happened. Better still, in the days before the storm, our resort forecasts were for 20cm to 30cm of snow at resorts in the Canterbury High country and from the reports, it seems that this was about right too.
Predicting snow depths right is notoriously difficult because the same volume of water can translate into very different volumes of snow according to the humidity and temperature - the ratio can be anything from about 4:1 for wet snow to 30:1 for the cold and dry powder that falls in places like Utah and the wind can be a huge factor too. Getting the depths even roughly right means that you have to be right about the precipitation, temperature and humidity as well. When snow showers are forecast, we don't even try.
Cold and clear air followed chased the clouds North and this has resulted in some great conditions in
The week ahead in
will cover most of the
======
There have been dustings of snow at most Australian resorts over the last week. Spring conditions are widespread with snow firm first thing and becoming heavy by afternoon.
Right now, a strong high over the Tasman is directing moist easterly air over the Australian resorts. It's generally overcast, and there is drizzle on lower slopes and a few snow showers about the top. Pressure is already falling over
European Alps
==========
Last week, our forecast called for an Atlantic anticyclone to move onto mainland Europe, pushing any cold and snowy air over the
dominate the
Andes
====
With ski resorts strung along half of the longest mountain chain on the planet, the Andes always presents a difficult prospect for a brief editorial. Today is typically diverse - freezing levels are at 700m in Cerro castor at the South, 4000m at Los Penitentes in the North but the relative altitude of resorts compensates for much of the difference in latitude.
In what continues to be an exceptionally good season for
The weather pattern for the week ahead is especially complex as a small depression crosses the region before high pressure builds over the tip of the continent and directs cloudy easterly Atlantic at the Southern Andes for the first time this season with most snowfall expected at places like La Hoya and Las Lenas. Fairly mild temperatures right now will give way to colder air as the low passes and a rare settled period in prospect for resorts in the deep south.
The Snow-Forecast.com editorial team
Sunday, 23 September 2007
World Snow News 12: 20th September 2007
Welcome to another members update of worldwide snow conditions, together
with prospects for the week ahead.
We currently have spring snow conditions across most of the resorts in the
Southern Hemisphere and the number of resorts that have closed for the
season in New Zealand has jumped significantly in the last week. Meanwhile,
the Atlantic weather charts have taken on a distinctly autumnal feel with a
succession of deep lows running through the gap between Iceland and
Scotland. As we forecast a week ago, the icy northerly plunge behind one of
these systems brought maximum temperatures of -3 degrees to the Scottish
summits on Monday, accompanied by 80km/h winds and widespread drifting
snow - it was the first blizzard of the season. There were very similar
winter conditions across Scandinavia too and the cold northerly air briefly
extended far enough South to bring further light snowfalls to the glaciers
of Austria and Switzerland.
New Zealand
=========
The Christchurch Press newspaper recently ran a very gloomy article in which
it claimed that the 2007 ski season had been exceptionally bad. With local
resorts like Olympus opening late and Temple Basin not opening at all, it is
easy to see why the Canterbury regional paper took this line. Even so,
looking across all NZ ski areas, the statistics don't support this
depressing picture and even locally Mt Hutt and Broken River have had a
fair season with a few truly great days. Although 2007 hasn't been anything
like as good as the 2006 El Nino year, you only have to go back to 2005 to
find a season that was worse. Many resorts have had an average season -
Rainbow in particular has had a good one. Last week several more resorts
closed for the season which is normal for the time of year - Mt Lyford,
Hanmer, Temple Basin, Craigieburn, Cheeseman, Porters, Olympus and Dobson
are all closed now - about 25% of resorts. There is still great skiing to be
found elsewhere. North Island resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa are confident
they will stay open until late October and as always, deep snow above the
lifts means that Ruapehu will offer superb back country days for the more
adventurous until Christmas at least.
The next few days sees pressure falling and a complex low pressure area
developing over New Zealand and the nearby Tasman. Initially, the air is
warm - freezing levels are above 2000m and it's cloudy and miserable. As the
low pressure transfers east and deepens it will draw in cool SE air in its
wake. Freezing levels will quickly fall and there should be widespread
fresh snowfalls at most resorts between Monday and Wednesday.
Australia
======
A few days ago I was trying to reconcile the snow report for Thredbo with
the latest web cam image. Whereas the report suggested top to bottom skiing
on a decent base, the camera suggested that resorts level snow was very
patchy - nothing like the 124cm reported. I mention this because the
apparent contradiction is a very common one that is not peculiar to Thredbo.
The reason is that snowmaking has boosted snow depths on the lower pistes
way below the natural levels and it is the snow depth on the piste that is
quoted in the report. As more and more resorts invest in snowmaking, this
creates a statistical headache. The problem is that snowmaking distorts the
record and spoils any historical comparisons that date from before it
existed. Be aware of this possibility if you find yourself concluding that
ski resorts are seeing much more snow than they used to - it may well be
mostly man-made and little consolation if you are an off-piste enthusiast.
Comparing upper snow depths is usually a much more reliable indicator.
Australian resorts are subject to spring conditions right now. The new snow
that fell last week didn't change much and it was soon back to mild weather
and wet heavy snow by afternoons. Right now, they have a real mixed bag of
weather in the Snowy Mountains following a front that is moving away to the
East. Freezing levels are about 2000m (near the summits) but falling. There
are rain, sleet and increasingly snow showers on the westerly breeze. Expect
a clearance in time for the weekend and reasonable skiing. If you stay high
and you may even be lucky enough to find some fresh snow from one of those
passing showers. Becoming milder on Tuesday as pressure builds and a NW wind
becomes established. The next cold front should be much more vigorous than
the recent one when it sweeps in off the Southern Ocean in about a week.
It's a long way off, but there is potential for a reasonable snowfall in
time for next weekend. A few days before it reaches the Ski Fields, that
same cold front may briefly manage a rare dusting of snow at the top of the
remote Stirling Ranges of Western Australia - don't bother taking your
skis - there is scrub almost to the summit, but if you are passing and see
snow, please post any photos of this in our online gallery.
South America
==========
Last week stayed pretty cold across most Andean resorts and that has helped
preserve the snow. With an anticyclone taking up residence over the nearby
Pacific, the week ahead begins cold and slowly warms up. The only
significant snow forecast is for resorts in the far South that are exposed
to fronts embedded the Westerly flow around the bottom of the high pressure.
Nothing too exciting, but I imagine most skiers down there have had such a
great season that they are losing interest now anyway. It's a huge area so
please refer to our detailed forecasts and reports for details.
European Alps
==========
There was more fresh snow on the Swiss and Austrian glaciers last week -
nothing like the 70cm plus falls of the week before, but very welcome just
the same. Typically 10cm in Austria and 2cm in Switzerland. High pressure
will provide a few more sunny days with light winds before cold northerly
air brings the possibility for another light fall of snow in the middle of
the week. Once again Scotland and Scandinavia should also see another cold
and wintry blast. Let's just hope this weather pattern lasts all winter and
breaks the recent pattern of high pressure over the Alps and a mild SW flow
for Northern Europe.
with prospects for the week ahead.
We currently have spring snow conditions across most of the resorts in the
Southern Hemisphere and the number of resorts that have closed for the
season in New Zealand has jumped significantly in the last week. Meanwhile,
the Atlantic weather charts have taken on a distinctly autumnal feel with a
succession of deep lows running through the gap between Iceland and
Scotland. As we forecast a week ago, the icy northerly plunge behind one of
these systems brought maximum temperatures of -3 degrees to the Scottish
summits on Monday, accompanied by 80km/h winds and widespread drifting
snow - it was the first blizzard of the season. There were very similar
winter conditions across Scandinavia too and the cold northerly air briefly
extended far enough South to bring further light snowfalls to the glaciers
of Austria and Switzerland.
New Zealand
=========
The Christchurch Press newspaper recently ran a very gloomy article in which
it claimed that the 2007 ski season had been exceptionally bad. With local
resorts like Olympus opening late and Temple Basin not opening at all, it is
easy to see why the Canterbury regional paper took this line. Even so,
looking across all NZ ski areas, the statistics don't support this
depressing picture and even locally Mt Hutt and Broken River have had a
fair season with a few truly great days. Although 2007 hasn't been anything
like as good as the 2006 El Nino year, you only have to go back to 2005 to
find a season that was worse. Many resorts have had an average season -
Rainbow in particular has had a good one. Last week several more resorts
closed for the season which is normal for the time of year - Mt Lyford,
Hanmer, Temple Basin, Craigieburn, Cheeseman, Porters, Olympus and Dobson
are all closed now - about 25% of resorts. There is still great skiing to be
found elsewhere. North Island resorts of Turoa and Whakapapa are confident
they will stay open until late October and as always, deep snow above the
lifts means that Ruapehu will offer superb back country days for the more
adventurous until Christmas at least.
The next few days sees pressure falling and a complex low pressure area
developing over New Zealand and the nearby Tasman. Initially, the air is
warm - freezing levels are above 2000m and it's cloudy and miserable. As the
low pressure transfers east and deepens it will draw in cool SE air in its
wake. Freezing levels will quickly fall and there should be widespread
fresh snowfalls at most resorts between Monday and Wednesday.
Australia
======
A few days ago I was trying to reconcile the snow report for Thredbo with
the latest web cam image. Whereas the report suggested top to bottom skiing
on a decent base, the camera suggested that resorts level snow was very
patchy - nothing like the 124cm reported. I mention this because the
apparent contradiction is a very common one that is not peculiar to Thredbo.
The reason is that snowmaking has boosted snow depths on the lower pistes
way below the natural levels and it is the snow depth on the piste that is
quoted in the report. As more and more resorts invest in snowmaking, this
creates a statistical headache. The problem is that snowmaking distorts the
record and spoils any historical comparisons that date from before it
existed. Be aware of this possibility if you find yourself concluding that
ski resorts are seeing much more snow than they used to - it may well be
mostly man-made and little consolation if you are an off-piste enthusiast.
Comparing upper snow depths is usually a much more reliable indicator.
Australian resorts are subject to spring conditions right now. The new snow
that fell last week didn't change much and it was soon back to mild weather
and wet heavy snow by afternoons. Right now, they have a real mixed bag of
weather in the Snowy Mountains following a front that is moving away to the
East. Freezing levels are about 2000m (near the summits) but falling. There
are rain, sleet and increasingly snow showers on the westerly breeze. Expect
a clearance in time for the weekend and reasonable skiing. If you stay high
and you may even be lucky enough to find some fresh snow from one of those
passing showers. Becoming milder on Tuesday as pressure builds and a NW wind
becomes established. The next cold front should be much more vigorous than
the recent one when it sweeps in off the Southern Ocean in about a week.
It's a long way off, but there is potential for a reasonable snowfall in
time for next weekend. A few days before it reaches the Ski Fields, that
same cold front may briefly manage a rare dusting of snow at the top of the
remote Stirling Ranges of Western Australia - don't bother taking your
skis - there is scrub almost to the summit, but if you are passing and see
snow, please post any photos of this in our online gallery.
South America
==========
Last week stayed pretty cold across most Andean resorts and that has helped
preserve the snow. With an anticyclone taking up residence over the nearby
Pacific, the week ahead begins cold and slowly warms up. The only
significant snow forecast is for resorts in the far South that are exposed
to fronts embedded the Westerly flow around the bottom of the high pressure.
Nothing too exciting, but I imagine most skiers down there have had such a
great season that they are losing interest now anyway. It's a huge area so
please refer to our detailed forecasts and reports for details.
European Alps
==========
There was more fresh snow on the Swiss and Austrian glaciers last week -
nothing like the 70cm plus falls of the week before, but very welcome just
the same. Typically 10cm in Austria and 2cm in Switzerland. High pressure
will provide a few more sunny days with light winds before cold northerly
air brings the possibility for another light fall of snow in the middle of
the week. Once again Scotland and Scandinavia should also see another cold
and wintry blast. Let's just hope this weather pattern lasts all winter and
breaks the recent pattern of high pressure over the Alps and a mild SW flow
for Northern Europe.
World Snow News 11: 13th September 2007
Welcome to the latest update of worldwide snow conditions and prospects for the week ahead.
There are just seven days to go until the equinox but it is too early for Southern Hemisphere skiers to abandon winter sports just yet. The season there is at the Northern equivalent of mid-March, and as everyone knows, spring skiing can be best of all - long sunny days, short lift-lines and great skiing at any resorts that are high enough to hold a good base. It may be officially the end of winter but the Southern Ocean takes a long time to warm up and spring down under is typically punctuated by pulses of cold air from frozen south that can bring fresh falls to relatively low altitudes. Unfortunately, Australian mountains are about 500m too low to ensure reliable skiing for very much longer - indeed two resorts have already closed. Meanwhile, across the Tasman, the high altitude big North Island resorts of Whakapapa and Turoa are usually a safe bet at this time of year and their combined spring passes represent excellent value if you plan on staying more than a few days. When Australian resorts suffer from spring conditions and fast melting snow beneath the high sun, a trip to New Zealand may very well appeal to the residents of Sydney and Melbourne. However, for European skiers, the cold summer in NW Europe offers an alternative with great snow conditions much closer at hand. Several Austrian Glacier resorts are reporting as much as 80cm of fresh snow. With conditions like this on offer even the superb Andean conditions are not all that tempting, let alone the even more distant Antipodean resorts.
Australia
=======
Several resorts had a dusting of snow last week. A front is approaching, accompanied by increasing NW winds, right now, soon gusting to gale or even storm force about the tops. The better news is that as the winds swing Westerly, temperatures will fall and there should be snow showers down to about 1500m tomorrow. Further showers and rather variable freezing levels over the next few days as the weather pattern quickly repeats means that it is a good idea to study the detailed forecasts and snow reports to make the most of conditions because they will be very mixed for a few days. Tending to settle down after that. Unfortunately, any new snow will come too late for Ben Lomond and Selwyn Snowfields which have now closed for the season.
New Zealand
==========
Not for the first time this season, the small resort of Rainbow has seen more new snow than most during the past few days, but even there only 8cm fell on Tuesday. The NW wind that we warned about last time duly closed Mt Hutt and Dobson on Thursday and has affected lifts at Turoa and Whakapapa too. A thundery weather front is presently moving up South Island and will reach north Island around lunchtime Friday. Unfortunately, the air behind it isn't especially cold and so precipitation on the mountains will tend to be rain rather than snow,especially at lower elevations - freezing levels typically not far from 2000m but the problem with aiming high enough to get the fresh snow will be the wind. Fairly moist and showery W or NW winds over the weekend should give way to more settled conditions from early next week - hopefully leading to excellent conditions on the upper slopes of Ruapehu in particular.
South America
===========
In last weeks forecast we mentioned that high pressure would develop over the southern tip of the continent and direct Atlantic easterly winds further North. Right now, that's exactly what we have and cool winds should deliver localized fresh snow to places like Chapelco that are open to the east. This unusual state of affairs will last about three more days before low pressure and prevailing westerlies return to the far South with more settled conditions elsewhere. The resorts near Santiago boast the most impressive snow depths of any ski resorts (around 4m) and this should ensure excellent spring skiing for several more weeks.
European Alps
===========
Austria is certainly the place to be right now following heavy snowfalls on most glaciers last week - over 50cm fell over wide areas. Settled conditions have followed and apart from a brief northerly on Tuesday, the week ahead looks mostly fine too. The Swiss and French summer skiing resorts will enjoy the same fair weather, but these were too far west to have benefited from much of the recent snow. As if to further remind us that winter will soon be here, Norway offers a wild-card prospect for back country skiing in the days ahead as deep and autumnal lows track nearby. On Monday and Tuesday there is every possibility that a cold northerly blast will bring the first snow of autumn across the Scottish Highlands. Even the high Lakeland fells may see a dusting!
For any surfers, prospects for the North Coast of Scotland and the North Sea Coast are really excellent for the time of year - winter swell conditions, but with summer sea temperatures.
There are just seven days to go until the equinox but it is too early for Southern Hemisphere skiers to abandon winter sports just yet. The season there is at the Northern equivalent of mid-March, and as everyone knows, spring skiing can be best of all - long sunny days, short lift-lines and great skiing at any resorts that are high enough to hold a good base. It may be officially the end of winter but the Southern Ocean takes a long time to warm up and spring down under is typically punctuated by pulses of cold air from frozen south that can bring fresh falls to relatively low altitudes. Unfortunately, Australian mountains are about 500m too low to ensure reliable skiing for very much longer - indeed two resorts have already closed. Meanwhile, across the Tasman, the high altitude big North Island resorts of Whakapapa and Turoa are usually a safe bet at this time of year and their combined spring passes represent excellent value if you plan on staying more than a few days. When Australian resorts suffer from spring conditions and fast melting snow beneath the high sun, a trip to New Zealand may very well appeal to the residents of Sydney and Melbourne. However, for European skiers, the cold summer in NW Europe offers an alternative with great snow conditions much closer at hand. Several Austrian Glacier resorts are reporting as much as 80cm of fresh snow. With conditions like this on offer even the superb Andean conditions are not all that tempting, let alone the even more distant Antipodean resorts.
Australia
=======
Several resorts had a dusting of snow last week. A front is approaching, accompanied by increasing NW winds, right now, soon gusting to gale or even storm force about the tops. The better news is that as the winds swing Westerly, temperatures will fall and there should be snow showers down to about 1500m tomorrow. Further showers and rather variable freezing levels over the next few days as the weather pattern quickly repeats means that it is a good idea to study the detailed forecasts and snow reports to make the most of conditions because they will be very mixed for a few days. Tending to settle down after that. Unfortunately, any new snow will come too late for Ben Lomond and Selwyn Snowfields which have now closed for the season.
New Zealand
==========
Not for the first time this season, the small resort of Rainbow has seen more new snow than most during the past few days, but even there only 8cm fell on Tuesday. The NW wind that we warned about last time duly closed Mt Hutt and Dobson on Thursday and has affected lifts at Turoa and Whakapapa too. A thundery weather front is presently moving up South Island and will reach north Island around lunchtime Friday. Unfortunately, the air behind it isn't especially cold and so precipitation on the mountains will tend to be rain rather than snow,especially at lower elevations - freezing levels typically not far from 2000m but the problem with aiming high enough to get the fresh snow will be the wind. Fairly moist and showery W or NW winds over the weekend should give way to more settled conditions from early next week - hopefully leading to excellent conditions on the upper slopes of Ruapehu in particular.
South America
===========
In last weeks forecast we mentioned that high pressure would develop over the southern tip of the continent and direct Atlantic easterly winds further North. Right now, that's exactly what we have and cool winds should deliver localized fresh snow to places like Chapelco that are open to the east. This unusual state of affairs will last about three more days before low pressure and prevailing westerlies return to the far South with more settled conditions elsewhere. The resorts near Santiago boast the most impressive snow depths of any ski resorts (around 4m) and this should ensure excellent spring skiing for several more weeks.
European Alps
===========
Austria is certainly the place to be right now following heavy snowfalls on most glaciers last week - over 50cm fell over wide areas. Settled conditions have followed and apart from a brief northerly on Tuesday, the week ahead looks mostly fine too. The Swiss and French summer skiing resorts will enjoy the same fair weather, but these were too far west to have benefited from much of the recent snow. As if to further remind us that winter will soon be here, Norway offers a wild-card prospect for back country skiing in the days ahead as deep and autumnal lows track nearby. On Monday and Tuesday there is every possibility that a cold northerly blast will bring the first snow of autumn across the Scottish Highlands. Even the high Lakeland fells may see a dusting!
For any surfers, prospects for the North Coast of Scotland and the North Sea Coast are really excellent for the time of year - winter swell conditions, but with summer sea temperatures.
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