Weather
A long, cold northwest flow brings multi-day October snow to the Alps from Thursday, October 23, through Tuesday night, October 28, with the deepest totals focused in the French Alps and high Swiss–Italian border peaks. Two primary pulses anchor this pattern: a robust burst Thursday night into Friday, then a widespread refresh centered on Monday night. Snow levels run high during daylight on Thursday, then fall quickly overnight and stay seasonably low through the weekend before trending upward again by Tuesday. Quality is generally good where it falls at night thanks to snow-to-liquid ratios mostly in the 12–16:1 range, while strong ridge-top winds at times will keep the alpine exposed and chalky.
Thursday night to Friday delivers the first and most widespread round of snow across the Alps. Light accumulations begin Thursday, but the main punch arrives after dark as west to northwest flow taps colder air and drops snow levels from roughly 1,800–2,300 m in the afternoon to about 1,000–1,400 meters overnight. The French Alps lead the way: Chamonix, Val Thorens, Tignes, Val d’Isère, and Courchevel stack up the biggest single-period totals Thursday night with snow-to-liquid ratios near 12–15:1 for fairly light, ski-friendly snow. Switzerland and the central/eastern Alps join in as well, with Verbier, Wengen, Ischgl, Samnaun, Sölden, and Kitzbühel all seeing a healthy overnight refresh; Zermatt and Cervinia also trend snowy with high-quality nocturnal fluff. Winds tilt west to northwest and become strong in exposed terrain, especially in the French Alps where gusts Thursday night peak on high ridges.
Saturday to Sunday brings additional smaller waves and a colder feel, favoring higher terrain. These surges are weaker and more showery, yet they incrementally add light amounts from the French and Swiss west through the Austrian border ranges. Snow levels hold low at night, commonly near 900–1,400 meters, and snow-to-liquid ratios frequently sit in the 12–16:1 range, so what falls will ski well where coverage exists. In the Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo sees only a modest early burst by Friday morning with little follow-up through the weekend, while St. Moritz trends quieter after its early hit. Expect mixed skies, occasional snow showers, and manageable winds for most areas, with the best window for pleasant on-snow conditions during the cooler mornings.
Monday night into Tuesday is the second, broad refresh that re-energizes much of the range. A renewed northwest push consolidates across France, Switzerland, and into Austria, yielding a widespread overnight bump that is locally hefty in the French Alps and meaningfully extends east to Wengen, Ischgl, Samnaun, Sölden, St. Anton, and Kitzbühel. Many resorts pick up another solid nocturnal shot with snow-to-liquid ratios mostly near 11–13:1, so the snow skews chalky to lightly powdery rather than ultra-blower. Snow levels begin low Monday night, then rise on Tuesday toward roughly 1,950–2,100 meters as temperatures edge up, tapering showers later in the day. By the time the pattern eases Tuesday night, multi-day totals reach around a metre in parts of the French Alps, with 30–90 cm common across high Swiss and Austrian resorts and more modest tallies in the Dolomites.
Skiing outlook for open areas: focus on the colder morning windows. St. Moritz, which is open on its Diavolezza ski area, sees a soft upper-mountain refresh by Friday morning from Thursday night’s snow, followed by another minor top-up late Monday night into Tuesday before snow levels rise during the day. Most marquee French and Swiss resorts remain closed; for them this is an excellent early-season base-builder high on the glaciers and alpine bowls. Winds are at their strongest Thursday night and again Monday night on the highest ridges, otherwise trending moderate and less intrusive lower on the mountains.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Chamonix – 79–119 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue night (10/28)
- Val Thorens – 79–119 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue (10/28)
- Tignes – 76–114 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue (10/28)
- Val d’Isère – 69–102 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue (10/28)
- Verbier – 64–97 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue night (10/28)
- Courchevel – 64–97 cm Thu (10/23) – Tue (10/28)
- Ischgl – 51–86 cm total (18–25 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri night (10/24) + 33–61 cm Fri night (10/24) – Wed (10/29))
- Samnaun – 51–86 cm total (18–25 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri night (10/24) + 33–61 cm Sat (10/25) – Wed (10/29))
- Wengen (Jungfrau) – 46–76 cm Thu night (10/23) – Tue night (10/28)
- Cervinia – 46–69 cm total (30–41 cm Wed night (10/22) – Sat night (10/25) + 15–25 cm Mon (10/27) – Tue night (10/28))
- Zermatt – 33–51 cm total (20–28 cm Thu (10/23) – Sat night (10/25) + 13–25 cm Mon (10/27) – Tue night (10/28))
- Kitzbühel – 28–46 cm total (10–15 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri night (10/24) + 18–33 cm Sun (10/26) – Wed (10/29))
- St. Anton – 28–46 cm total (5–8 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri night (10/24) + 20–38 cm Sat (10/25) – Wed (10/29))
- Sölden – 25–43 cm total (13–15 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri night (10/24) + 13–25 cm Mon (10/27) – Wed (10/29))
- St. Moritz – 20–30 cm total (15–18 cm Thu (10/23) – Fri (10/24) + 8–13 cm Mon night (10/27) – Tue night (10/28))
- Cortina d’Ampezzo – 8 cm Thu night (10/23) – Fri (10/24)
