What will this winter be like? Skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers are already asking themselves!
Will it snow a lot or a little, will temperatures be above or below average, will the snowfalls be evenly spread or concentrated at the beginning or end of the season, will it snow more on the Alps or on the Apennines, and where in particular?
These are just some of the questions all of us snow lovers are asking ourselves after putting the deckchairs and beach umbrellas away in the attic.
It is still too early to give an answer, and we know that long-range weather forecasts are worth about as much as a lottery ticket; still, it is always nice to dream of a winter like that of 2008-2009, when every ski area got more than 2 metres of snow!
a winter like this wouldn't be bad :)
We have scoured the web in search of forecasts: we found plenty of hypotheses, and some of them are very interesting.
Scenario 1:
The first scenario we unearthed on the internet is optimistic about the coming winter. The absence of “La Niña”, combined with the possible first effects of the “solar minimum”, could lead to a cold and snowy winter.
Nobody is sticking their neck out very far, but it seems that hopes are pinned above all on the “solar minimum”, whose effects have been awaited for a long time and might show up precisely in the 2011-2012 winter. So the possibility of below-average temperatures at least bodes well for a winter with artificial snow.
Scenario 2:
Another scenario foresees a winter with above-average temperatures. This hypothesis stems from the fact that the ice at the North Pole is at a record low in terms of extent. This summer’s heat has caused the collapse not only of the glaciers of the Alps but, more or less, of the whole northern hemisphere. With the retreat of the North Pole, the 2 famous passages have opened up, the Northwest and the Northeast Passage.
According to some, the fact that the polar glaciers have retreated considerably will lead to a late winter and an inflow of weakened Arctic currents, with consequently above-average temperatures. The damage to the northern freezer would thus translate into a milder winter.
Scenario 3:
Among the various hypotheses we found on the internet there is a third scenario, a forecast which, however, does not rest on any meteorological basis and seems instead to be the fruit of some skier’s snow withdrawal.
Without going on too long, let’s just say that this umpteenth scenario sees an autumn with normal temperatures and the first cold spells around November, then abundant snow from Christmas onwards, with a bitterly cold January and a very snowy February.
a Christmas like this wouldn't be bad either!
Although for us snow lovers the third scenario is the one we like best, we can say that the first two seem more likely, even if they contradict each other.
For now the weather experts are not committing themselves, so we have to make do with unofficial forecasts, hoping that summer leaves as soon as possible, making way for the cold and for lots and lots and lots of SNOW!
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