After a mostly dry and mild December, snow returned to the the Pyrenees on Friday.
Meanwhile most resorts in the Alps have been able to stay open after a promising early start to the ski season, thanks to fresh snowfalls, with more on the way this weekend.
Avec le refroidissement, le risque de #neige s'étendra à des altitudes plus basses dans les prochains jours.
A partir de dimanche soir, des flocons tomberont en-dessous de 300 m.
Carte de probabilités que des flocons soient observés (jaune et orange = plus d'une chance sur… pic.twitter.com/qUR1b8Kqbb— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) January 4, 2024
Pyrenees
Snow has returned in the Pyrenees. Some 5cm fell overnight into Friday, January 5th in eastern parts of the mountain range, with forecasts predicting a further 15cm to 20cm to be on the ground 24 hours later. The region had not seen any snow since December 2nd.
❄️ Retour en force de la #neige sur les #Pyrénées, et ça va durer ! On attend d'ici à lundi 30 à 50 cm de neige dès 1200 mètres d'altitude. ⚠️ Prudence pour descendre ou accéder aux stations de ski ⛷️ pyrénéennes ce week-end. pic.twitter.com/B280XQnI8z
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) January 5, 2024
In Angles, 20cm of snow had fallen at higher altitudes by mid-morning on Friday.
Further west, numerous resorts in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département remained closed this week after early December snow had melted in mild conditions that have dominated France in recent weeks, but significant snowfall is expected over the weekend into Monday, and resorts are hoping that they will see enough to open.
One resort, Artouste, has been unable to offer skiing since the start of the season on December 23rd due to a lack of snow. A scenic rail service – usually reserved for warmer months – has kept the resort going. It is set to stop running on Friday, amid expectations of enough snow to finally open the slopes.
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Alps
Many ski resorts opened on time, or even a little earlier than scheduled last month, after significant early snow fall, and have enjoyed deposits in the first days of 2024. But, even here, resort managers welcomed the promise of more significant snow this weekend.
Il #neige☃abondamment dans les #Alpes au-dessus de 1500 m d'altitude. A #Chamrousse (station pour laquelle nous réalisons des prévisions météo expertisées gratuitement depuis 21 ans ici >>> https://t.co/pcj2MnwLwY ), il est tombé 11 cm en 3h (entre 7h et 10h). pic.twitter.com/vv3lQbIYZM
— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) January 5, 2024
Some resorts weren’t so fortunate. Ski areas in Gérardmer, in the Vosges, were still closed in the week leading up to Christmas because of poor snow conditions, but they are hoping for enough snow to finally get started this weekend, while La Bresse-Honeck was using ‘stocked snow’ made by using snow that fell earlier in the winter months to stay open as recently as December 30th.
In the Northern Alps, resorts such as Alpe d’Huez benefited from fresh snowfall on December 22nd, while Val d’Isère had new snow on December 29th. In the Southern Alps, Les Orres’ last pre-New Year snow was on December 8th.
And the French Alps have enjoyed more snow since the start of the year. There’s at least 50cm of fresh snow on the higher slopes of Les Gets and Morzine, for example, a significant improvement on the same time last year, when the resorts were among several that had very little snow to speak of.
In Chamonix, meanwhile, snow has fallen on eight of the last 14 days, with more expected every day between Friday and Monday.
Massif Central
As the post on X / Twitter shows, the Massif Central has not had the best of winters for snow so far. But between 30cm and 50cm is expected in Le Lioran by Monday.
La ❄️ #neige fait cruellement défaut dans le Massif central. Bonne nouvelle, puisque d'abondantes chutes de #neige sont prévues dès vendredi et se poursuivront jusqu'à lundi. Au #Lioran, on attend d'ici à lundi 30 à 50 cm au bas des pistes ! pic.twitter.com/s1SYBjC0Mj
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) January 4, 2024
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