Grassy slopes in the Alps? European slopes facing snow shortage in record warm winter
LA TimesSkiers speed down a slope with artificial snow Saturday at more than 5,000 feet above sea level in the resort of Villars-sur-Ollon in Switzerland. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in much of Europe is allowing grass to blanket mountaintops across the region where snow might normally be, causing headaches for ski slope operators and aficionados of Alpine white. It’s a sharp contrast to the frigid weather and blizzards in parts of the United States lately — and to ski slopes in California, with Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain reporting as much as 42 inches of new snow in a weekend storm. In France, national weather agency Météo France said 2022 ended with some of the warmest weather the country has ever experienced at this time of year — capping an exceptionally warm year that saw temperature records broken and rampant forest fires and drought conditions. Météo France said the southern Alps — as well as northern Alps slopes above about 7,200 feet — have seen close to normal snowfalls.
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Study suggests global warming set to worsen snow shortages on Europe's ski slopes
The Independent
Half of France’s ski slopes closed after unseasonably warm winter temperatures
The Independent
Alpine slopes face snow shortage in unseasonably warm winter
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