Where to Ski And Snowboard - Temperatures plunge in Europe

Temperatures plunge in Europe

2nd February 2012, by Chris Gill

Cold and snowy in the French Alps (c) W King

Temperatures have been falling in the Alps this week, and across much of Eastern Europe. A wintery front from the north-east is the reason, with forecast figures at minus 20 or even lower. This has been causing problems in Eastern Europe especially, where cold related deaths have been reported in Romania and Bulgaria.

Authorities in Serbia say some 11,000 villagers are trapped by heavy snow and blizzards as the cold spell grips eastern Europe. “The situation is dramatic, the snow is up to five meters high in some areas, you can only see rooftops,” said Dr. Milorad Dramacanin, who participated in the helicopter evacuations. And in Bulgaria, 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago.

The situation is not quite so serious in the Alps yet. We’ve just returned from France’s Portes du Soleil, where it was minus 7 at valley level on departure. Nice and wintry. And this is keeping the freshly fallen snow in fine shape – light and powdery. Thankfully, the winds have remained light, so the windchill effect is not too severe at present.

There was 5-10cm snow on the ground in Geneva, and this could hang around for a while if the temperatures plummet even further. A quick look at the country weather forecasts suggest night time lows of between minus 20 and minus 30 are possible in the next few days, as a high pressure tries to establish itself across Europe. The cold snap follows heavy snowfall for some parts of France to start the week, which delivered more than predicted to north-eastern resorts, and gave the Pyrenees their first significant dump of the season – 40cm in Formgial for example, up to a metre elsewhere.

The winter chill is also expected to hit Scandinavia too, where Sweden has issued a level 2 alert for heavy snow and freezing temperatures – influenced by the north-eastern winds that are sweeping in over the Baltic. These will build up snow flurries, and as these hit the coast they will cause the heavy snowfall. Initial predictions are for about 30cm or so.

Road and rail authorities are out de-icing and clearing areas where they can, but be prepared if you are travelling to the mountains in the next week; chains and/or winter tyres if driving are a must, for example.

We’ll bring you more in our Snow reports. You can check out our recent experience in Les Gets and neighbours in our Blogs, the first of which includes a video report.