Powder Alarms Start Arriving from the Alps

Although the forecasts are now less 'excited' than they were at the weekend (Zermatt, originally forecast to get over 1.5m by Boxing Day, is now forecast to get about 40cm), the snow has started falling in the Alps and many resorts have so far seen a much needed 'refresh' of the snow cover after not much fresh for a month.

Some ski areas, mostly smaller centres, are publishing powder alarms (20cm+ in 24 hours) for bigger accumulations than most, so far.

Among them are the famed freeriding centre of Bonneval sur Arc, over the back of the mountain from Val d'Isere which reports it has had 20cm of snow overnight, as does its neighbour, Val Cenis.

A little to the south and just over the Italian border the resorts of Mondole Ski (30cm/a foot) and Limone (45cm/18 inches) have posted the biggest snowfalls and highlighted just where the epicentre is of the snow showers so far – south of the big resorts in the Northern Alps.

However Torgnon in the giant French-Swiss Portes du Soleil also reports 20cm/8 inches of fresh snow overnight there.

Few pictures have been published yet of the snow fall at the resorts above but top is an image from Prato Nvvoso (Mondole Ski area) last night and this live webcam shows snow falling (at time of posting) at Bonneval
http://www.bonnevalsurarc.fr/accueil-bonneval-sur-arc/webcams-bonneval-sur-arc_146.html

I suspect a tourist trap. No idea where they get their alarms from. Zermatt was forecast to get loads early this week but in comparison got little and zero forecast between now and Monday. I am signed up for weather alerts with SwissMeteo and Zermatt is included and I receive nothing so far. Some clouds over the weekend, this is it. More snow further South though, in Italy. But nothing significant is expected here until New Year at least.