Want to ski this half-term? Here’s where in Europe has the best snow

10.02.2024 - 23:59 / euronews.com / Saskia ODonoghue

February half-term is usually a near-guaranteed time for ski lovers to find snow in Europe - but it may be significantly harder this year.

Instead of discovering new snowfall at the continent’s many resorts, families heading off on ski trips during the school holiday could find good conditions difficult to come across.

January was the hottest on record - pushing 12-month global average temperatures over the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for the first time. In southern Spain, some experienced heat of over 30C - unheard of for this time of year.

At the end of last month, it was estimated that some 28 per cent of European ski resorts in the likes of Spain, France and Switzerland were closed.

This figure has now dropped closer to 24 per cent, according to Skiresort.info - but it’s still a large chunk of closures to be aware of if you are planning a trip.

Across the Alps - which are found in Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia - the snow cap has decreased by 5.6 per cent each year over the past half a century.

That’s according to research from the University of Padova and the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in Bologna, Italy.

However, all is not lost for those keen to hit the slopes - here’s the situation in many of Europe’s most popular resorts.

In France, a number of ski resorts - particularly in the Pyrenees - have seen unusually warm weather this year which has led to a lack of snow.

Taking those circumstances into consideration, forecasters are saying it is very unlikely that snow in several resorts will be replenished before the half-term holiday begins.

However, despite the fact that countless resorts in France have seen high temperatures at all altitudes which has seen thawing snow in many areas, it’s not all bad news.

Heavy snowfall early in the season has left some of the country with a solid snowpack which has been up to 4.2 metres high in the Les Arcs area.

The vast 3 Valleys locale, too, has announced that 95 per cent of its runs will remain open for the foreseeable future.

Switzerland - famous for its luxurious, top-quality destinations - has seen a similar number of resorts forced to shut.

In January, a temperature of 8C was recorded in Haute-Maurienne, Savoie, at an altitude of around 1,800 metres - something very concerning to climate experts.

It is still, though, a solid destination for a skiing trip this February.

With many high-altitude resorts, skiers haven’t suffered a lack of snow if they picked their runs carefully. Despite some gusty winds, conditions are better the further you climb.

Laax has recorded the country’s deepest snow on its glacier, where it lies at more than 3.5 metres deep. Verbier and the Four Valleys too say around 95 per