Weather
The Alps kick off an active stretch with a major midweek storm in the West, a colder weekend reload, and a continued unsettled signal into next week. The highest-confidence hit is the Tue night (02/10) – Fri (02/13) storm, which favors the French Alps and nearby western Switzerland with higher-elevation totals in the 80 cm–150 cm range while snow levels gradually work lower. A smaller follow-up from Fri night (02/13) into Sun (02/15) adds another 5 cm–25 cm for many resorts with better snow quality, and it helps more valley bases stay snowy. After Sun night (02/15), several models keep systems coming, but the spread grows on where the next bullseyes set up and how often the rain-snow line wobbles, so fine-detail totals turn lower confidence.
The Tue night (02/10) – Fri (02/13) storm brings the deepest snow of the period and the clearest model agreement. The ECMWF, the AIFS, the GFS, and the ICON all stay meaningfully wet across the French Alps, and the GDPS is the main drier outlier in a few central-Alps pockets, so totals vary more from resort to resort in Switzerland and near the Italian border. Snow levels run roughly 1,250 to 1,550 meters early, then settle closer to 950 to 1,150 meters late, which keeps higher terrain firmly in snow while the lowest bases (especially those under about 1,000 meters) see more sensitivity to brief warmer pulses. SLRs in the French Alps generally sit around 11–14:1, so snow quality trends moderate to fairly good, while some lower northern and eastern hills see denser intervals closer to 7–10:1. Winds look mostly moderate, with periodic ridge gusts around 40 to 60 km/h creating some exposed, textured surfaces on upper elevations during the storm’s peak.
Snow keeps falling around Fri night (02/13) through Sun (02/15), and colder air improves the overall quality of new snow. This follow-up is smaller than the midweek event, yet it stays impactful for skiing because it refreshes surfaces and lowers snow levels enough at times for snow to reach many valley floors. Additional amounts commonly land in the 5 cm–25 cm range by Sunday, with a broad footprint from the western Alps into parts of Switzerland and Tirol. Snow ratios climb for many areas, often reaching the 12–18:1 range from Saturday into Sunday, so the new snow trends lighter and more forgiving than the early-week dense periods at lower elevations. Winds remain mostly in the manageable category for many resorts, so snowfall intensity and fog in the thicker bands will do more to shape on-mountain conditions than sustained high-wind events.
After Sun night (02/15), guidance continues to advertise more storms, and confidence leans on the bigger-picture pattern rather than day-by-day totals. The ECMWF and the AIFS keep a steady train of waves moving through the Alps, the GFS often runs more aggressive with the stronger pulses, and the GDPS periodically carves out longer breaks that would trim totals for some western and central areas. The ICON supports additional early-week snowfall within its range, which reinforces the idea that the storm track stays active even as placement shifts between model runs. Plan on more on-and-off snowfall chances at higher elevations, with the lowest base areas remaining most sensitive to rain-snow line fluctuations as each system passes. Late-week signals are present in the longer-range guidance, and the next few runs should clarify whether the most productive lift returns to the western Alps or swings farther east.
Resort Forecast Totals (02/10–02/15)
- Val Thorens – 123 cm–171 cm
- Chamonix – 109 cm–150 cm
- Tignes – 104 cm–143 cm
- Val d’Isère – 98 cm–136 cm
- Courchevel – 91 cm–127 cm
- Verbier – 82 cm–114 cm
- Wengen (Jungfrau) – 50 cm–73 cm
- Cervinia – 52 cm–72 cm
- Zermatt – 43 cm–59 cm
- Ischgl – 33 cm–50 cm
- Samnaun – 26 cm–38 cm
- St. Anton – 20 cm–30 cm
- Kitzbühel – 12 cm–20 cm
- Sölden – 12 cm–19 cm
- St. Moritz – 12 cm–18 cm
- Cortina d’Ampezzo – 4 cm–6 cm
