A white awakening for a splendidly snow-covered Israel thanks to a snowstorm from the east that is also affecting Turkey and much of the Middle East. This snow front blanketed streets and roads, causing significant traffic disruptions; snowfalls here are a rare event—the last major snowfall dates back to 2003, and 10 years later history is repeating itself.
Snow is affecting not only the desert, but also the USA and much of Northern Europe. Severe blizzards are sweeping across North America, with temperatures well below freezing and lows reaching -30° in North Dakota, while Storm Xaver first hit the Scandinavian countries before moving toward Russia and bringing heavy snowfalls to the capital.
Italy, caught between high pressure and thermal inversion
In Italy the weather situation is the complete opposite: no fresh snow here, just sun, fog, and thermal inversion.
The lack of new snowfall and the thermal inversion are putting the ski resorts of the Alps and Apennines to the test. The snowpack is growing thinner and nighttime temperatures barely dip below freezing due to the thermal inversion.
These two factors deprive resorts of both natural and artificial snow: it is hard to make snow without stable sub-zero temperatures, and snowmaking near freezing yields far less than at colder temperatures.
This also impacts the upkeep of slopes that until now have relied on a single natural snowfall and programmed snowmaking; as a result, several ski resorts are working non-stop to gather snow from alongside the runs and move it onto the slopes, with snowcats in action collecting as much snow as possible to keep lifts open. Organizing ski events that typically begin livening up our mountains at this time of year is proving challenging as well.
For now, forecasts are not on skiers’ side, but after December 20 the pattern could break and snow could return from the desert to its natural home. Similar situations have occurred in recent years, so all is not lost: winter may simply be biding its time before dumping meters of snow in January (at least we hope so).
Recommended links:
> Snow Report
> Live Snow Webcams
No comments yet