Fine spring sunshine has been dominant for the past two weeks in the western Alps. The snow is still generally good but more would be great. Monday is the last day of spring weather in Europe before winter makes a big comeback. The Arlberg region of Austria is expecting a metre of fresh snow this week and most of the French Alps are likely to receive upwards of 40cm.
Warm spring weather has also been the trend across North America for the past week. However California received another massive dump of over 60cm on Sunday so fantastic deep powder turns can be enjoyed at Heavenly, Squaw Valley and Mammoth.
European Weather Outlook
Following a long spell of spring weather in France, winter is expected to return with a vengeance from Monday night onwards. Heavy snow is forecast at many resorts and Argentiere is expecting the most where 71cm could land between Tuesday and Friday. This will be a welcome change from the hot sunshine. Many other resorts are expecting upwards of 40cm in the same time period.
The heaviest of the snow this week is expected to be in Austria, predominantly in the Arlberg region. Heavy snow is forecast all week at Lech, Zurs and St Anton and by the weekend up to a metre of powder could have fallen. The temperature will also be more like what you would expect in January, with a top temperature of -10?C in Lech on Tuesday. Roughly 25cm every day until Friday is expected.
Closer to home, Scotland is expecting some snow as well. Between 15cm and 20cm of snow is likely this week and combined with some strong winds could fill in many of the ski runs. It will also be fairly cold, so at Cairngorm it will snow right down to car park level.
Scandinavia is also expecting some light snow towards the end of the week. Between 5cm and 10cm is expected by the weekend and temperatures should remain low for the whole week
North American Weather Outlook
Lots of snow is forecast for Colorado this week. It has already started falling on Monday morning and a further 60cm is expected at Crested Butte this weekend. The rest of the Colorado resorts are expecting upwards of 40cm to fall coupled with some much colder temperatures. A freezing level of around 1500m-2000m should mean a top temperature of -11?C at Breckenridge on Thursday and Friday.
The Californian resorts have just received a big dump of fresh snow on Sunday where over 60cm fell. The week ahead looks like being very sunny and spring-like. The temperature should remain fairly low until the weekend, when a high of +10?C is expected on Saturday.
Cold weather is expected on the east coast until Wednesday when warmer weather should move in. No snow is forecast but it will probably be fairly cloudy on Thursday and Friday.
Up in Canada it is a similar story to Colorado. Snow is forecast for resorts in British Columbia but not as much as in Colorado. Revelstoke is expecting 40cm to land this week, keeping their snow in excellent condition. Tuesday is likely to see the heaviest snow, with 17cm of spring powder expected.
Light rain is forecast for Blue Mountain on the east coast of Canada on Wednesday due to the resorts very low altitude.
