meteorology

Cold weather and snowflakes in many regions

Cold weather and snow in some places, even at low altitudes, over the next few days. Details of the snow forecast still uncertain.

Polar cold from the north and a low-pressure system over northern Italy with plenty of moist air are bringing the ingredients for the first snowflakes of autumn to the whole of Austria. ‘However, the exact forecast of where and how much it will snow in the coming days is still uncertain,’ says meteorologist Josef Haslhofer from GeoSphere Austria. ‘For several days now, the forecast models have been predicting the first snowflakes at very low altitudes towards the end of the week. But even small changes in the position of the low-pressure system over Italy have a significant impact on precipitation levels and temperatures in Austria. In the provincial capitals, for example, it is still uncertain whether Linz, St. Pölten, Vienna and Eisenstadt will see the first snowflakes in the coming days. From the current perspective, snowfall is relatively certain on Thursday in Bregenz, Innsbruck and Salzburg, for example, and on Friday in Klagenfurt and Graz. It will definitely be wintry in the Austrian mountains, where around 20 centimetres of fresh snow is expected from Thursday to Friday.’

Snow in November is not unusual

In November, it is quite normal for snow to fall occasionally, even at very low altitudes in Austria. Over the last 30 years, the first continuous snow cover in the provincial capitals has occurred on average from mid-November onwards. Due to global warming, the first snow cover can now be expected one to two weeks later than in previous decades.

First snow cover on average for the climate period 1991–2020

Innsbruck Airport: 19 November Salzburg Airport: 21 November Eisenstadt: 26 November Bregenz, Linz, St. Pölten, Klagenfurt: 27 November Graz University: 28 November Vienna Hohe Warte: 30 November

Significantly too cold for the second half of November

It will remain cold until the weekend. Early morning temperatures will range from minus 8 to plus 2 degrees over the next few days. Sunday will start with temperatures below minus 10 degrees in many regions, especially in Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg and Carinthia. Afternoons in Austria will see temperatures between minus 2 and plus 4 degrees over the next few days. This means that temperatures will be around five to ten degrees below the typical values for the second half of November.

Further information

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)