Was 2026 the hottest-ever summer in the Alps?

Can you gauge the rate that winter is deteriorating in the Alps compared to summer? Anecdotally, it doesn't even seem to be close.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Can you gauge the rate that winter is deteriorating in the Alps compared to summer? Anecdotally, it doesn't even seem to be close.
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Yes, it is warming faster in summer and I agree the difference seems to be significant. A lot of this is due to the albedo effect, which creates a positive feedback loop as temperatures increase. Snow is melting earlier in spring, exposing darker surfaces that absorb more solar energy. This increases local temperatures, which in turn causes more snowmelt, further reducing the albedo and reinforcing the warming. Separately, it seems that there has been a weather pattern change in recent years that is favouring an increase in hot air moving north out of Africa across western Europe.
 
Weathertoski said:
Yes, it is warming faster in summer and I agree the difference seems to be significant. A lot of this is due to the albedo effect, which creates a positive feedback loop as temperatures increase. Snow is melting earlier in spring, exposing darker surfaces that absorb more solar energy. This increases local temperatures, which in turn causes more snowmelt, further reducing the albedo and reinforcing the warming. Separately, it seems that there has been a weather pattern change in recent years that is favouring an increase in hot air moving north out of Africa across western Europe.
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Like but don’t like.
This phenomenon is not happening in North America? Or not to that degree?
 
Global warming is disproportionally stronger in northern continental regions in summer.

So yes that is true in North America but we have very little glacial lift served ski terrain. The two places known best for lift served summer skiing, Blackcomb and Timberline, are in a similar state of retreat as the summer ski areas in the Alps.

The Alps are higher latitude than most US skiing, and high latitudes also have disproportionate warming.

None of this extreme summer weather is too relevant to winter skiing, where the main effect is an average 500 foot increase in the rain/snow line. The Alps have such a wide range of altitudes there are more low altitude places where rain has probably gotten worse. I analyzed this issue for a few places in North America for that Far West Ski Assn. panel in June 2025. That presentation may interest @Weathertoski.
 
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