Snow at lower altitudes in August is rare but not unheard of. The last major falls were during the summer of 2002. Since then we have had two summers of exceptional temperatures, 2003 and this year. Both of which have done considerable damage to the alpine glaciers. The director of tourism at Tignes believes that summer skiing will not be possible on the glacier du Grande Motte within a decade.
So it was nice to open the shutters this morning to see a small dusting of snow above 2000 meters altitude with a chilly overnight minimum of 15.8 °C. At the moment cold, maritime air is passing over France at altitude, bringing rain and snow above 1900 meters to the Northern Alps. This should continue through to Monday with around half a meter of fresh snow above 3000 meters and freezing temperatures to 2300 meters. Given that the nivological year begins on the 1st of October this doesn’t count as “premiere neige” and it will soon dissapear as August returns to more normal temperatures.
Posted by
davidof on Saturday, 12 August, 2006 at 10:35 AM
After the hottest July on record yesterday was the coldest August day in the Savoie. The record was broken at Bessans which hit freezing (O°C)!. At Annecy the temperature didn’t climb above 13.5°C, a 30 year record according to Meteo Chamonix
There has been a great deal of snow above 3000m, the Col du Galibier was closed all day yesterday and there is a risk of avalanche, particularly snow purges in couloirs, at high altitude.
Posted by
davidof on Monday, 14 August, 2006 at 03:53 PM
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