0
0
The chances of a white Christmas this year are quite high. Light snowfall is possible on Christmas Eve, especially in southern and eastern Austria. In Vienna, it would be the first white Christmas since 2012.
Snow could also fall on Boxing Day and Christmas Day, according to forecasts by meteorologists at Geosphere Austria.
New week starts with fog and black ice
On Monday, however, the sky will still be gray. At the beginning of the week, the lowlands in the eastern half of the country will continue to be covered by fog and high fog fields. These will be mostly persistent with a fog ceiling between 900 and 1,300 meters. Away from the fog, it will be sunny and mild again. Strong southerly winds on the eastern edge of the Alps, with strong southerly foehn winds in places. Early temperatures will range between minus seven and plus four degrees, with maximum daytime temperatures between zero and twelve degrees, depending on fog or sunshine.
On Tuesday, the eastern Alpine region will remain in a southerly flow between a low-pressure system over Genoa and a high-pressure core over Scandinavia. This means that fog and high fog patches with some drizzle will persist in the lowlands of the eastern half of the country. Elsewhere, it will be sunny at first, before thicker clouds roll in over the rest of Austria. In the afternoon, more clouds will push over the fog cover in the east, bringing light rain. There is a risk of black ice on frozen ground. The wind will be light, moderate to brisk in the north, blowing from the northeast to southeast. Early temperatures will rise to minus four to plus three degrees, with daytime highs ranging from zero to eleven degrees, depending on fog and sunshine.
Good chance of snow on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, thick clouds will cover the sky, with only the west seeing some sunshine above high fog fields. It will remain dry here for most of the day, but rain or snowfall is expected everywhere else. The snow line will drop from the north to low-lying areas in many places. The wind will be light to moderate, but brisk from the north to east in the northern Alpine foothills. Early temperatures here will range from minus four to plus three degrees, with a tendency to get colder during the day.
White Christmas possible in Vienna
As the weather service UBIMET reported in detail, the chances of a continuous snow cover at Christmas in the western provincial capitals remain low. In Bregenz and Innsbruck, the current probability is less than five percent. A white Christmas is also unlikely in Salzburg and Linz, but numerous snowflakes are expected to fall from the sky on December 24.
The outlook is much better in the south: in Graz and Klagenfurt, the probability of snow cover forming over the holidays is around 80 to 90 percent. There is still some uncertainty for Vienna, St. Pölten, and Eisenstadt, but the chances here are higher than they have been for a long time. In Vienna, it would be the first white Christmas since 2012.
There was snow at Christmas in Klagenfurt last year with around 1 cm, as well as in 2021 with 15 cm. For Graz, however, 2025 would be the first white Christmas since 2010, when there was around 8 cm on the ground.
Snow also possible on other Christmas holidays
In the east and south, thick clouds will cover the sky on Christmas Day and there may be some light snowfall at times, especially in Styria and Burgenland. Further west and north, patches of fog and high fog will persist over the lowlands. Away from these areas, however, the sun will often shine. The wind will be moderate to brisk in the northern Alpine foothills, but otherwise only light, blowing from the northeast to southeast. Early temperatures will reach minus seven to zero degrees, with daytime highs of minus two to plus five degrees, with the higher values in the west.
On St. Stephen’s Day, high fog-like clouds will persist in the east and south, and there will still be occasional light snowfall in the southeast. Further west and north, the sun will shine for the most part, but there will be patches of fog over the lowlands. The wind will be moderate to brisk from the east in the northern Alpine foothills, but otherwise it will be rather calm. Early morning temperatures will reach minus nine to minus one degree, with daytime highs of minus three to plus five degrees, with the highest values in the west.
- source: APA/picture: Image by Matthias Kost from Pixabay
This post has already been read 42 times!
