Over 1 Meter of Fresh Snow in the Alps, Already Past 3 Meters at Sella Nevea

Credits: Cover photo Prato Nevoso by Pentax Fan

The storm system that reached the Alps on Friday, February 19 brought huge amounts of fresh snow to ski resorts, completely transforming the landscape. Weather forecasts were spot on as ski resorts were hit by blizzards with strong winds and non-stop snowfall throughout the weekend; from west to east, the storm left no one behind, bringing snow all the way down to 1,000 meters above sea level.

The heaviest accumulations were recorded in the northwestern sectors, particularly in the mountains of Piedmont, where ski resorts such as Prato Nevoso, Limone Piemonte, and Prali hit the jackpot—heavy snowfalls that transformed the scenery at resorts that until just a few weeks ago had been struggling due to the lack of snow.

Snowfalls also blanketed Lombardy, Trentino, and Veneto, with the heaviest precipitation falling along the Prealps, which are now well covered in snow albeit at slightly higher elevations than the northernmost resorts.

Across many Alpine ski areas, the fresh snowpack now exceeds one meter in depth.

Where the Deepest Snow Is

This storm has certainly transformed the mountain scenery, and at long last the snow report makes for exciting reading…

1. 1. Topping the list of ski resorts with the deepest snow once again is Sella Nevea (a true classic), which already boasts over 3 meters of snow (308 cm) at high altitude and more than 1 meter of fresh snow in the valley—and it is still snowing non-stop.


Sella Nevea snow gauge – source: sellanevea.net

2. 2. Second place goes to La Thuile, where snow depth at high altitude is approaching 3 meters. La Thuile is one of the few areas to have enjoyed consistently favorable weather conditions compared to other resorts during this challenging winter season.
3. 3. In third place—by the narrowest of margins—is Cervinia with 280 cm of snow at high altitude. The Matterhorn resort continues to pile up snow, ensuring the ski season will run late into spring with great conditions.
4. 4. In fourth place is the Val Rendena – Brenta Dolomites ski area of Pinzolo-Campiglio-Folgarida, where around two and a half meters of snow are recorded at high altitude, much of it fallen over the past few hours.
5. 5. Climbing into fifth place is Limone Piemonte, making up for lost time after spending the early part of the winter near the bottom of the rankings with slopes kept open solely through artificial snowmaking. Now the Piedmont resort boasts over 2 meters of snow at high altitude.

Following closely behind are Courmayeur, Tonale, Pila, San Domenico, Alleghe, and Prato Nevoso, almost all of them with around 2 meters of snow at high altitude…

Snow in the Apennines Too

Not only the Alps, but the Apennines as well have benefited from this storm system, which right now is blanketing the main ski resorts from Emilia down to Abruzzo. Fresh snow has fallen on Monte Cimone and Abetone, as well as in Abruzzo, with mid- to high-altitude snowfalls across the resorts of Ovindoli, Roccaraso, Campo Felice, and Campo Imperatore.

Although the snow line is higher than in the Alps, the storm has transformed the landscape at several resorts that were struggling just days ago, such as Monte Terminillo.

Snowfall in the mountains of Ovindoli

Snow Forecast for the Coming Days

The “cyclone” that swept across Italy’s mountains is about to move on, but another storm system is forecast for mid-week, bringing more snow to both the Alps and the Apennines. The mid-week snowfall will reach the Alps on Wednesday with the snow line near 1,000 meters, while in the Apennines the snow level will be slightly higher.

As always, we recommend checking our snow webcams page and snow forecast page, and following us on our Facebook page for further updates.