Snow Forecast Summary - 6th January 2011

The past week has been relatively quiet, with settled weather almost everywhere and significant new snow just about confined to Norway and Colorado.

European Weather and Snow This Coming Week

The next few days are going to see significant precipitation across The Alps but it is going to be accompanied by relatively mild, even warm, temperatures. This will mean rain to around 2,000 metres in many areas before temperatures fall again. The exact mix of rain and snow will depend, as usual, on local factors although the snow line is likely to descend quite quickly as the weekend ends and should bring snow below 1,500 metres by mid-week. The East of The Alps (Austria) will likely be a few degrees cooler than elsewhere.

Later in the week temperatures look set to rise again, above seasonal averages in many areas, although with further precipitation falling as snow at higher altitudes.

Although beyond the reliable forecast timeframe, the models are strongly indicating a return to seasonal temperatures next weekend - we'll keep our fingers crossed and bring you the latest next week.

So, for this week... go high!