Winter weather returns to Austria – cold front makes snow comeback

Less snow fell than usual this winter, and March was warmer than average.

But now Austria is experiencing a winter comeback with snowfall down to the valleys.

Tyrol – Much less snow fell in large parts of Austria than in previous years.

March 2023 was also one of the warmest March months on record.

In the ski areas of the Alps, the question arose: will there be enough snow until the end of the season?

But now the winter weather in Austria is experiencing a comeback, because a cold front is bringing back the snow.

Cold front in Austria brings winter back

On Sunday (April 2nd) a cold front hit Austria.

During the day the snow line was between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, in the evening it was only about 700 meters from the north.

at the beginning of the week it will be

significantly colder and the snow line will continue to fall: it will then be between 600 and 900 meters above sea level.

Some snow falls on Monday

therefore not only in many ski areas, but also in the valleys.

Nevertheless, it gets warm during the day, with maximum temperatures of five to ten degrees.

According to Geosphere Austria, there can only be sleet or rain below the snow line

According to the forecast, the cold front from the north will continue to bring cold air masses on Tuesday (4 April).

Light snowfall is also possible on the north side of the Alps from Salzburg to the low mountain range.

Instead, the sun stays longer, especially in the south.

The maximum temperatures fluctuate more clearly and are between two and eleven degrees across Austria.

, the influence of the low-pressure area and the cold current from the north

will continue to cause light snowfall on Wednesday.

In the middle of the week it gets a little cooler, the maximum temperatures during the day are one to nine degrees according to

and three to nine degrees according to the Geosphere forecast.

Ski winter in the Alps seems saved, but what's next?

This year's ski winter in the Alps seems saved, but a look at the long-term trend shows that man-made climate change is clearly making itself felt in Austria.

The country's glaciers have never melted as much as they did last year since measurements began 132 years ago, the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV) warned in its annual glacier report.

The glaciers are melting – How climate change is changing the earth

The glaciers are melting – How climate change is changing the earth

This trend appears set to continue: according to a study published in January in

journal , half of the world's 215,000 glaciers and a quarter of their mass will have melted by the end of the century - even if global warming drops to 1.5 degrees Celsius can be limited.

However, scientists now consider the 1.5 degree target to be unattainable.

There are numerous glaciers, such as the Pitztaler, Hintertuxer or Stubaier Gletscher, among Austria's highest and therefore most snow-sure ski areas.

The weather is subject to natural fluctuations.

In the long term, however, the snow and the maximum snow depths will also decrease, especially at low and medium altitudes, below about 1500 meters above sea level, according to Marc Olefs from GeoSphere.

"It is in the long-term interest of snow sports to implement science-based goals for climate protection and adaptation in all sectors, in the joint responsibility for future sports generations," says Ralf Roth, initiator of the DA-CH network "Klima.Schnee.Sport".