Austria will experience rare snowfall in the next 48 hours, even though it is high summer. Due to a cold air stream from the Arctic region, the temperature on many mountain passes will drop below freezing. Higher valleys can also expect snow.
Last week, Austria, like the rest of Europe, experienced tropical temperatures. In Alpine cities such as Innsbruck, Bolzano and Zurich, the temperature rose to 35 degrees. Due to passing showers, it has cooled down considerably. But due to a cold air stream coming all the way from the North Pole, the temperature will drop even further in the night from Monday to Tuesday, reports Weerplaza.
At an altitude of 3 kilometers, the temperature drops to 4 degrees below freezing and at an altitude of 5 kilometers the mercury drops to 20 degrees below zero. According to Weerplaza, these are exceptionally low values for July in Central Europe.
Due to the weather conditions, the snowfall limit in parts of Austria drops to 1,600 meters. Locally, 40 to 70 centimeters of snow can fall. This can cause inconvenience on the road for holidaymakers who are on their way to the warm south.
Snow and other precipitation is also expected in the French and Swiss parts of the Alps. There, the snowfall limit is clearly higher: around 2,500 meters. That is quite low for summer months, but it does occur more often.
On the highest peaks of the Alps, such as Mont Blanc and Grossglockner, summer snow regularly occurs. But it is exceptional that the snowfall limit in July drops below 2,000 meters. The last time this happened was in 2017 and before that in 2009. In 2009, a thick layer of snow fell on July 18 up to an altitude of 1,700 meters.