France and Italy see first snowfalls in boost for Brits planning ski holidays
Thick blankets of snow have started to cover some ski resorts in a positive sign for the season to come.
A hefty amount of powder has started to form in resort across the Alps after a major storm saw rain freeze and build up on the slopes over the weekend. The areas that have seen the most snow this weekend are the western Alps, especially the higher French resorts, with another 40 to 60cm of new snow above 2,000m.
Resorts including Chamonix, Tignes, La Plagne and Val Thorens have had significant amounts of snow. “The western Swiss Alps, Verbier, and far north-western Italian Alps, La Thuile & Courmayeur, will also do well over the next couple of days, with 30-50cm at altitude by the end of Sunday,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk on Saturday.
According to Snow Forecast, there is more snow to come over the next few days, including in Madonna di Campiglio in Italy. Argentiere, Val d'Isere, La Fouly and Verbier are all currently enjoying more than 60cm of recently fallen, fresh snow.
The snowfall at Val d'Isere has been good so far (Getty Images/Hemis.fr RM)In the next week Pas de la Case in Andorra is expected to have 20cm, Avoriaz in France 66cm, the French Les Arcs in 118cm and Trysil in Norway 50cm. A spokesperson for ski accommodation company Absolutely Snow joked: "The snow dance is working."
Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts
There are reasons to hope that snowfall in Europe may be good this winter. El Niño, the ‘warm phase’ of what’s known as El Niño Southern Oscillation climatological event, is currently having an impact on the temperatures and weather in Europe. It was partly responsible for the very hot summer that impacted large parts of the Continent and led to devastating bushfires in Greece and France.
El Niño is usually linked with colder winters and increased snowfall in Europe through the influence it has on the jet stream and Atlantic storm track. Whilst it can’t completely negate the warming trend experienced globally due to climate change, El Niño often leads towards a colder and snowier winter for many parts of the continent.
Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at the Met Office, has said: “El Niño years tend to be mild, with a wet and westerly start to winter and a colder, drier end to winter across most of northern Europe.” If his prediction is correct, then the ski conditions may improve as the winter goes on.
If you are planning a trip to the slopes this winter, then Eurostar's extended Alps service takes snow enthusiasts from London to the mountains in just nine hours, and comes with plenty of baggage allowance included in the price. It's also worth checking out some of the resorts that're likely to have more snow this year, according to Lizzie Nelson, Nelson Travel ski consultant.
The outlook this year seems more positive than last season, when alpine enthusiasts found themselves on muddy hillsides as rain and sleet combined with warm weather to melt the snow, with resorts in the northern Alps and French Pyrenees worst affected.
Ski resort Ax 3 Domaines was forced to temporarily close, while the likes of Le Gets and Morzine had only opened a limited number of runs at the beginning of the season. “The period immediately after Christmas was the warmest since 1997 in France”, with “exceptionally high” temperatures recorded, The Local France reported.
Temperatures around 8C higher than the seasonal average has devastated many of the ski resorts at a lower altitude and made winter sports impossible. Many skiers filmed themselves standing on mud as ski lifts trundle overhead.
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