#ice-and-snow

#ice-and-snow

Snow will reach Tasmania first on Friday night, then spread into Victoria overnight, and finally reach New South Wales resorts on Saturday, tapering off by Sunday evening.

When scientists applied a new model of human survivability that takes into account the body's ability to function and stay cool depending on age, they found all six events had seen non-survivable periods for older people who could not find shade.

Kennedy predicts hot and dry conditions from the west will shift eastward later this week, allowing for a noticeable warm-up and shift towards spring-like conditions.

The study highlights how rapid Arctic warming increases the frequency of extreme weather events, particularly concurrent heatwaves across Europe and eastern Asia.

The storm will begin warm and wind-affected on Friday, with snow levels starting around 7,000 to 8,000 feet, leading to wet conditions at lower elevations initially.

Enzo attempted a double front flip at Alaska's Hilltop Ski Area. He comes pretty close to landing it, nearly getting his skis all the way around, but he just didn't quite get it.

Visually inspect skis, bases, and edges. If any damage, get a full tune to fix the damage, grind the bases, and sharpen the edges.

By April 1, the state's long-term snow data showed conditions unlike anything previously recorded. Of the 64 manual snow course sites in Colorado with records stretching back more than 50 years, 60 either tied or set their lowest April 1 readings ever observed.

Utah's ski season, like much of the western United States, was a bit of a dud. Snowstorms were few and far between, weather was warm, and many trails were wet and slushy.

'They save up ice like a savings account and then spend it all very quickly like a Black Friday event.'

In the mountain village of Capracotta, snowdrifts reached over five feet, burying streets and forcing residents to dig tunnels through the snow.

Avalanches kill about 100 people in Europe each year, with vast masses of ice, snow and rock regularly crashing down on hikers and skiers who have been caught unawares. The structure of the snow, angle of the slope and variation of the weather can dictate whether a gentle disturbance like a gust of wind or the glide of a snowboard can trigger a deadly shift in the mountain.

"It feels like we skipped spring this year and dropped straight into a summer heatwave. What should have been a gradual snowmelt happened suddenly weeks ago. To me, this is another reminder that aging water systems need to be retrofitted for more volatile precipitation patterns."

Engelberg has seen exceptional snowfall totals, receiving 84 cm in the past 24 hours and 132 cm over the past five days, restoring peak-season conditions.

Park City, Utah, one of the West's most beloved ski destinations, is having an unusually difficult season. For a state that prides itself on its snow, 2026 has started on an unexpectedly thin note. By this point in winter, rooftops are typically glazed in white and aspen groves disappear beneath Utah's signature "champagne powder." This year, that familiar scene is missing.

To get back to average snowpack, we essentially need to have the most snow that we've ever had for the last 30 years between now and mid-April. It would be extremely difficult for Colorado to get back to a normal/average snowpack. As an example, when looking at the Independence Pass SNOTEL site in central Colorado outside of Aspen, we typically have 13 inches of snow-water-equivalent at the end of February. This year, we only have 6.7 inches of SWE.

Images on social media show snowed-in cars, mountains of marshmallow powder, and landscapes buried under deep midwinter snow. In many of these areas, one would need to look back to 1999 to find thicker snow cover in February. In other words, this is an unprecedented post-2000 snow situation in most of France. However in 2018, the historic "Beast from the East" storm cycle delivered extraordinary totals to resorts in the south of France. Still, for much of northern Savoie and Haute-Savoie, February 2026 stands out as one of the most impressive snow periods in nearly three decades.

Last week alone, parts of western Switzerland were buried under 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) of snow. Another meter fell this week in some regions, pushing fresh storm totals to as much as 2.5 meters (8 feet). The new snow has helped erase what had been a snow-poor winter in the west, with snow depths in some areas now well above seasonal averages.

Recently, Anchorage, Alaska's largest city with nearly 400,000 residents, has just recorded its snowiest January on record. Tucked in between the mighty Cook Inlet and pushed right up against the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage sits in prime location for some serious snow totals. Moisture from pacific storms builds up over the inlet, and thanks to orographic lift caused by the mountains, forces that moisture to drop over Anchorage. Thanks to Alaska's northernly location, that moisture often falls in the form of snow.

Snowfall in France this week has been huge, with some resorts seeing more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) in the last five days. A massive winter storm hammered the French Alps from February 10-13, unleashing monster snowfall that has buried resorts and reshaped the mountain landscape just days before Valentine's Day weekend. Across the Northern Alps - including iconic resorts in Haute-Savoie, Savoie, and Isère - weather stations reported extraordinary snow totals.

This image, acquired with the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Terra satellite, provides a wide view of meager western snow cover on January 15. On that day, measurements derived from satellite observations showed that snow blanketed 142,700 square miles (369,700 square kilometers) of the west. That's the lowest coverage for that date in the MODIS record dating back to 2001 and less than one-third of the median. Coverage had increased slightly by January 26.

Vail Mountain has recorded its lowest snowpack in 47 years, with just 67 inches of snow so far this season. It has been a tough season so far for many resorts located in the Rockies and out West. "We experienced one of the worst early-season snowfalls in the Western U.S. in over 30 years," Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release. This has limited Vail Mountain and other resorts from opening new terrain and has decreased skier visits.

WeatherA multi-day storm cycle targets the Alps this week, then reloads with colder air next weekend while snow chances continue into midweek. The western Alps look like the main winners overall, with frequent snowfall pulses and the deepest totals at higher elevations. Snow levels run high enough at times midweek to keep lower villages on the edge of wet snow or rain, then they drop sharply heading into the weekend.

Many of us are riding the high of the recent major snowstorm wondering when the next big powder day will swing through. Unfortunately for most of North America, it looks like the snowy weather won't be returning anytime soon, or at least not for the next week. Meteorologist Chris Tomer 's Mountain Weather Update paints a rather sad picture for snowfall totals in North America between January 29th and February 5th.