The high-pressure system that dominated the first part of December, leaving the Alps dry, is about to loosen its grip and winter is ready to make its comeback.
Following the late-November snow that gave the ski season a strong launch, ski areas have received no further snowfall. Only low temperatures have made it possible to keep lifts open, albeit with some difficulty due to thermal inversion.
The one bright spot has been the fine sunny days that brought crowds of skiers onto the slopes of many Alpine resorts.
Snow, however, is a precious commodity, and fortunately it looks set to return starting Thursday, December 19, when the high-pressure wall will begin facing the first pushes from the north and a few small weather fronts will manage to reach the Alps.
Starting December 20, snow will begin affecting parts of the Alps with modest but increasingly frequent snowfalls—nothing dramatic at first, but an important sign that the weather pattern is shifting.
A Snowy Christmas?
Right around Christmas, snowstorms could make their presence felt more strongly, with ski resorts blanketed in white over the Christmas holidays—especially across the northernmost Alpine areas, with a snow line around 1,000 meters.
The return of winter is a promising sign, so much so that several weather centers are pointing to a possible intensification in the first days of January.
All that remains is to wait and check our real-time updated snow forecast and snow report pages, keeping a close eye on the webcams and hoping for a White Christmas 2013
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