As widely forecast, snow has made a triumphant return to the Italian mountains, bringing back true winter conditions that had been somewhat forgotten during recent weeks of above-average temperatures.
The first snowfalls appeared in the northwest on Sunday and Monday before moving northeast, where the storm unleashed its full force across the northeastern Alps with heavy snow in Trentino – Veneto and Friuli.
While the northwestern and central Alps did not see major accumulations, the opposite was true in the eastern Alps, where persistent snowfall—especially across Veneto and Friuli—brought heavy accumulations.
Receiving the heaviest snow from this wave of bad weather were pre-Alpine resorts such as the Asiago Plateau, which recorded more than 50 cm of fresh snow, the Fiorentini Plateau (bordering Folgaria), the Belluno Dolomites including Cortina and Val Comelico, and above all Friuli, where heavy snow blanketed all the ski resorts including Zoncolan, Forni di Sopra, Piancavallo, and the entire Tarvisio area.
Abetone - Snowfall of January 16, 2013
It wasn’t just the Alps in this return of winter: snow also hit the Apennines, bringing heavy snowfall all the way down to the plains in Emilia Romagna and intense snow to the ski resorts of the Emilian Apennines such as Monte Cimone, Cerreto Laghi, and Corno alle Scale. Snow also fell in Tuscany at Abetone with roughly 70 cm of fresh powder, along with heavy snowfall in the Central Apennines—particularly across the mountains of Abruzzo—and snow in the mountains of Lazio as well.
Only a brief pause for the Alps, more snow on the way
Clouds have given way to sunshine in the Alps, but it is only a temporary break: as early as Friday, an Atlantic weather system is arriving that will bring more snow across the entire north, including snowfall in the plains of Piedmont and Lombardy. This new storm will bring a temporary rise in temperatures, pushing the snow line higher on Sunday while still keeping it at medium-low elevations.
Meanwhile, snow will continue falling in the Apennines, reaching low altitudes and nearly down to the coast in some areas. Over the weekend, however, temperatures are set to rise and snow will turn to rain even in high-altitude Apennine ski resorts, partially undoing the gains from this latest snowfall.
Overall, the outcome of this weather system is decidedly positive for the Alps and largely for the Apennines as well (despite the weekend forecast); this fresh supply of snow will certainly allow tourism operators to continue the season without major worries, at least through the first weeks of February.
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