The unseasonably warm October, on the heels of a meltingly hot summer in France, and after a mild spring has left ski resort bosses looking nervously at the weather forecasts ahead of the start of the ski season.

Glacier skiing during the Toussaint holiday period has been off the table this year after Tignes and Deux-Alpes resorts decided to remain closed because of a lack of snow.

Frédéric Porte, director of the Tignes ski resort, told Le Figaro that “below-average snowfall last winter, a mild spring and a scorching summer” were to blame for the decision not to open the glaciers for skiing in late October.  “Snowfalls at the end of September were not enough,” he added. 

But resorts still intend to open for the main ski season – with Chamonix expected to open from December 3rd, Val Thorens on November 19th and Tignes on November 26th.

Stations in the Pyrenees, meanwhile, are set to start opening from the end of the month, with Cauterets partially opening from the weekend of November 26th. 

Other resorts – including a number of Pyreneean ‘heavyweights’ plan to open by the first weekend of December – Luz-Ardiden, Peyragudes, Piau-Engaly, Grand Tourmalet, Pic du Midi, and Ax 3 Domaines all plan to open around December 2nd or 3rd.

Several resorts are also changing their ski lift operations as part of France’s winter energy-saving plan. The Puigmal 2900 station in the Pyrénées-Orientales, has already announced a drop in speed of its ski lifts this year, which will also close three times a week.

According to Météo France’s long-range forecast, the winter of 2022-2023 should remain within seasonal expectations, while the south of the country can expect a relatively dry three months between November and January.

“The most likely scenario for the November-December 2022-January 2023 quarter is the predominance of anticyclonic conditions, with calm and dry weather, over the European continent,” Météo-France said in its quarterly report.

“Disturbances will tend to be further north of Europe or southwest of the Mediterranean.”

Météo-France’s climate models suggest there’s a one-in-five “chance” of a colder-than-normal winter, compared to a 30 percent chance of a “warmer” winter. And, a 50 percent chance that the next three months will follow seasonal norms.

Winter 2021 was one of the wettest in history, but the forecaster said that it was unlikely the next three months would follow the same pattern, especially in the south of the country.

“A drier-than-normal scenario is likely from the eastern Mediterranean to central Europe and northeastern France, while a wet scenario is more likely over northern Europe and the western Mediterranean,” forecasters explain, with the usual warnings that they are unable to predict daily or weekly weather conditions in a 90-day trends forecast.