Monday, 28 August 2023

TEMPERATURE CRASH IN THE ALPS LEADS TO ADDITIONAL SUMMER SNOWFALL; MICHIGAN SUFFERS FREEZING AUGUST LOWS; + “MEGA SNOWSTORM” DELIVERS 12 FEET OF SNOW TO ARGENTINA AND CHILE

AUGUST 28, 2023 CAP ALLON


TEMPERATURE CRASH IN THE ALPS LEADS TO ADDITIONAL SUMMER SNOWFALL

Temperatures have taken another spill across the majority of Europe, and summer snow is returning to the continent’s higher elevations.

“The weather is now on the change,” said the alpine weather expert Fraser Wilkin of weathertoski.co.uk, “there will be some snow up on the glaciers, especially early in the week, when 50cm (20 inches) or more is possible.”
  
GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies for Aug 28      GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies for Aug 30

Despite mainstream bemoanings of ‘catastrophic heat’ and ‘glacial decline’, Austria’s Hintertux ski area has remained open this summer, as has Switzerland’s Zermatt and Saas-Fee, and also Italy’s Passp Stelvio resort.

Zermatt, Switzerland open for business [photo taken Aug 27].

Back in April and May, a snowy end to the season comfortably recouped any winter deficits. Then throughout the summer, despite the odd influx of anomalous southerly warmth (aka ‘global boiling’), rounds of snow have been routine with very heavy poundings noted in late-July, and down to extraordinarily low levels, too, down to well-below 1,500m (4,900ft) in some parts.

With this week’s returning snow, many closed ski resorts are now setting their opening dates.

Pitztal in Tirol, Austria–for example–is planning to open its slopes next month, as reported by planetski.eu.

“Dramatic weather change!” reads the below Facebook post from Meteo-Alpes: “Lost 15 degrees and heavy snowfall underway at the top of the Alpe d’Huez (see below). Above 3000m (9800ft). The snow will descend towards 2100m (6900ft) tomorrow.”


Disregard mainstream warm-mongering.

There is good reason for European ski resorts to be optimistic.

MICHIGAN SUFFERS FREEZING AUGUST LOWS

The United States, overall, is experiencing a cooler than average summer — the data don’t lie, they’re just inconvenient.

But as seems to be the case across great swathes of the planet, ‘swings between extremes‘ is the dominant setup — and Michigan is no different: Following the burst heat and humidity of a few weeks ago, the weekend just gone saw the mercury crash below freezing.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Gaylord posted this bit of engagement farming on Sunday morning (Aug 27):

The guesses rolled in, including 33F near Onaway, 38F in Cheboygan/Gaylord, and 37F in Houghton Lake.

But “the winner was 31F in Atlanta, MI from our 25 county area of responsibility,” posted the NWS, alongside a temperature graphic (shown below). “A couple reports colder than this were recorded in the western UP”.


The coldest spots in the Upper Peninsula were the 27F in Baraga, the 30F in Kenton, the 30F Ironwood AP, and the 31F in Wakefield, according to the NWS office in Marquette (see below). Very cold readings for the supposed ‘dog days’ of summer.


“MEGA SNOWSTORM” DELIVERS 12 FEET OF SNOW TO ARGENTINA AND CHILE

Again, ‘swings between extremes‘ sums up South America’s winter — from record warmth, to record chills and exceptional snow totals.

A powerful winter storm has delivered in excess of 12 feet of snow to ski areas across the Andes.

Las Leñas Resort in Argentina–for example–is one such area, with more than 12 feet of fresh powder accumulating at its mid-mountain station over the past four days: “a ridiculous amount of snow,” states snowbrains.com in a recent article.

“This will certainly be a storm to remember,” the SB article continues. “It is not uncommon for the area to have storms that drop three to five feet of snow, but a storm this big may only come every five years or so.”

Though the resort remains open, the access road has been blocked and employees are working hard on avalanche mitigation.

Below are the top 4 totals to hit Argentina and Chile this week during what PowderQuest labelled a “mega snowstorm”:

1) Las Leñas, Argentina — 13 feet (4m)
2) Portillo, Chile — 8 feet (2.4m)
3) Valle Nevado, Chile — 5-6 feet (1.8m)
4) Catedral, Argentina — 4 feet (1.5m)

Heavy falls also hit southern Chilean resorts, with Corralco reporting almost 4 feet (1.2m) in the last 36 hours alone, and Nevados de Chillan noting 3.4 feet (1.05m).

Ski resorts up and down and around the Andes are celebrating the recent record-challenging totals as they suggest great business for the remainder of the season.

This post has had a number of video's edited out. CC



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