An active depression brought lots of snow to the French Alps last weekend. Check out where the most snow came down in this article!
As announced, the most snow came down in the French northern Alps (Haute Savoie, but also the Savoie and Isère). It snowed on the highest peaks on Friday the snow line dropped deep into the valleys on Saturday. About 35-70 centimeters (on average) of fresh snow came down at 2200 meter altitude. If you go higher up, the snowpack will be thicker. The snowfall was accompanied by a strong wind.
You can see the data from three measuring stations in the French northern Alps below. These data show that around 35-70 centimeters came down in the night from Friday to Saturday and on Saturday itself. If we compare these data with the forecast on our snow cards it all fits perfectly. The snowcover will settle the next two days due to influences like the wind, the sun, the temperature and the mass of the snow itself. It will form the base for the snow that's still to come.
Snow cover in the French northern Alps at the moment:
Conclusion: the first base is there and there's more snow on the maps for the next couple of days. The conditions in the French northern Alps are improving. You could go out for a tour after the next dump and the conditions in resorts like Tignes and Val Thorens are improving dump after dump. And chances are that the French northern Alps will get a lot of snow the next seven days.
The French Southern Alps didn't get that much snow. The resorts just south of the Ecrins got a little bit of snow, but it remained dry further to the south. Check out some webcam images and data from the measure stations below. If we compare this with the forecast on our snow cards everything comes together.
Snow cover in the French southern Alps at the moment:
Conclusion: limited possibilities to go on a tour. Ski resorts still need lots of (artificial) snow before they can open the lifts. We need at least two big dumps in this region!