Snow

Monday, September 6, 2010

Remember the snow that fell over the central and eastern Alps the beginning of last week? Over half a metre of the white stuff accumulated at altitude in some places, and the snowline briefly dropped below 2000m. We're still two and a half months away from the start of the mainstream ski season in Europe - but all the same, the sight of the snow had everyone buzzing.

Well, it is only September. Check out the difference a week can make at this time of the year at 2200m, at the Jochpass, above the Swiss resort of Engelberg. Below was the scene this time last week, on August 30.

At the Jochpass, above Engelberg, Switzerland, August 30.

And here is how it's looking today.

The Jochpass, Engelberg, Switzerland, September 6. The temperature at this altitude is a mild 13C today.

Of course, some of the snow has stuck around at higher altitudes. But we note that after excited talk of the glacier at Sölden opening at the weekend for skiing, the start date has now been put back to mid-September, weather permitting. "We don't have enough snow on the glacier for skiing yet," the resort told Welove2ski this morning.

We also note that the seasonal forecast at Meteosuisse.ch is for a warmer-than-average autumn.

Hmmmm.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the conviction is growing that the coming winter will be snowier-than-average in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies - thanks to the Pacific Ocean climate anomaly known as La Niña. Last week Environment Canada released its long-range forecasting maps for the winter, predicting above-average precipitation in much of southern British Columbia from October-December - the southern half of BC being where several of Canada's best ski resorts are set.

The Environment Canada precipitation forecast, October-December 2010. Note the area of red ("above average") in the bottom left-hand corner.

However the picture for the second half of winter is a little less promising for skiers. As you'll see from the map below, above-average precipitation is expected across much of western and central Canada, but not for the southern strip. Whistler is just about on southern limit of the red area.

The Environment Canada precipitation forecast December 2010-February 2011.

Of course, long-range forecasting is not an exact science, and La Niña isn't the only factor which will influence weather in the region this winter. Nevertheless, anyone who likes skiing or snowboarding in soft, deep snow should keep their eyes on this part of the world - especially if La Niña continues to strengthen. We should hear more about that from America's Climate Prediction Centre today when it produces its monthly ENSO update.

What with all this talk of the approaching northern hemisphere winter, it's been hard to stay focused on what's happening in the southern hemisphere. Generally, spring has its grip on ski resorts there. There was heavy rain over the Snowy Mountain resorts of Australia at the weekend, and rain today at altitude in the South Island of New Zealand (where they have more urgent things to talk about than snow, in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake). Meanwhile, in South America, the long snow drought associated with La Niña broke last week to everyone's relief, and many resorts had over 20cm of snow. However, since then temperatures have risen. "We are in a spring skiing freeze/thaw cycle" reports Portillo in Chile. Here's how it was looking at Valle Nevado in Chile last Friday.

Fresh snow in Valle Nevado, Chile, September 3.

Below is the latest video snow report from Perisher in Australia. The good news is that there was fresh snow yesterday and today to repair some of the damage done by the rain (which has brought flooding at lower elevations in south-eastern Australia).