The third storm system of January has hit the Alps, dumping a huge amount of snow from east to west and blanketing all ski resorts, including those at medium-low altitudes.
As forecast by experts, snowfalls affected the Alpine arc starting Thursday evening, with a marked intensification on Saturday and Sunday when more than 100 cm of fresh snow fell above 1,500 m and nearly 2 meters of snow above 2,000/2,500 meters of altitude.
The snowfalls were so intense that several sporting events had to be cancelled, such as the Swatch Freeride World Tour in Courmayeur and the even more famous Alpine Ski World Cup scheduled in Cortina.
The Belluno resort was buried under another 2 meters of fresh snow, rendering practically futile the efforts of the organizers who had been working for days to ensure a good race course.
Madesimo and Sella Nevea the snowiest ski resorts
Standing out above all are the ski areas of Madesimo in Lombardy and Sella Nevea in Friuli, where the snowpack reached 3 meters and 4 meters of snow respectively.
The Lombardy ski resort had already been hit by the heavy Boxing Day snowfalls, when the snowpack knocked out power lines just like in Cortina, and this latest snowfall once again nearly cut off the Valchiavenna village, with roads open only intermittently.
Sella Nevea, meanwhile, is no stranger to records; one could almost say that 4 meters of snow (data source: Promotur snow info) are “the norm” for the Friulian ski area. Here storms are always more generous than across the rest of the Alpine arc, and thanks to the Prevala Basin, the snow sometimes even survives through the summer season.
The situation is not much different in other Alpine areas: in Veneto, 240 cm are recorded in Cortina, well over 2 meters in Asiago (Monte Verena), and a whopping 350 cm on the Marmolada.
The same goes for Trentino Alto Adige, with Madonna di Campiglio and Andalo buried in snow and accumulations reaching 250 cm.
Massive snowfalls also hit the Aosta Valley and Piedmont, with record snow in Prato Nevoso and Limone Piemonte.
View from the Prato Nevoso Ski offices
Snowfall in Selva di Cadore - photo by Ristoro Belvedere-Fertazza
Snow in Cortina - photo by Scuola Sci Cristallo
Winter 2013/14 like winter 2008/09?
Despite a window of fine weather, snow will not leave us over the coming weeks and will continue to affect the Alpine sectors, accompanied by a temperature drop sufficient to bring wintry air back down to lower altitudes and perhaps a few frosts on the plains as well.
Sella Nevea - Snow in winter 2008/09
Given the sheer amount of snow on the ground, this season is starting to resemble the 2008/09 winter, which went down in history as one of the snowiest ever.
In 2008/09, spring arrived with snow accumulations exceeding 2 meters almost everywhere and reaching up to 6 meters in many Alpine resorts—images that still circulate widely online today and that we will certainly remember for a long time.
It is hard to say whether the 2013/14 winter will manage to bring quite as much snow, but we are certainly well on our way.
Recommended links:
» SNOW REPORT
» SNOW WEBCAMS
Photo gallery: Record Snowfalls
Photo credits Madesimo Snowpark, Scuola Sci Cristallo Cortina, Ristoro Belvedere-Fertazza, Prato Nevoso Ski
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