First snow on the Alps
10 October 2013 00:00–18:00 UTC
A significant outbreak of polar air brought the first heavy snow pack of the autumn to the central Alps.
Last Updated
22 October 2020
Published on
10 October 2013
The snow level touched the grounds of the inner-alpine valleys (~700 m). Up to 80 cm of snow were recorded, at places above 1500 m, in the southern Swiss mountains.
The passage of the cold front brought a mix of heavy rain gushes and strong winds to the Swiss-Italian border area.
The reddish tint in airmass RGB marks a significant area with maximum values of potential vorticity (PV) behind the cold front, confirmed by the ECMWF analysis of the potential temperature at the level of PV=2.
Download animation
Download full resolution image
