Abries-Ristolas, France

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6 Day Forecast (free) top: 2451m mid: 2000m bot: 1550m	2 Day Detail (subscribers) top: 2451m mid: 2000m bot: 1550m	9 Day Forecast (subscribers) top: 2451m mid: 2000m bot: 1550m	Piste Map	Weather Maps	Snowfinder

6 Day Weather Forecast for 2000 m altitude, issued (local time): 6 pm 05 Jul 2008

	Days 0-3 Abries-Ristolas Weather Summary: Light rain (total 6.0mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon . Very mild (max 18°C on Sat afternoon, min 4°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light.									Days 4-6 Abries-Ristolas Weather Summary: Some drizzle, heaviest during Fri morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 4°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.
	Sat 05 after- noon	Sat 05 night	Sun 06 morn- ing	Sun 06 after- noon	Sun 06 night	Mon 07 morn- ing	Mon 07 after- noon	Mon 07 night	Tue 08 morn- ing	Tue 08 after- noon	Tue 08 night	Wed 09 morn- ing	Wed 09 after- noon	Wed 09 night	Thu 10 morn- ing	Thu 10 after- noon	Thu 10 night	Fri 11 morn- ing
Wind (km/h)
Summary	clear	clear	rain shwrs	light rain	some clouds	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	clear	rain shwrs
Snow cm	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rain mm	-	-	2	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Max °C	18	12	15	13	9	15	14	6	14	14	7	15	15	9	18	17	11	17
Min °C	15	6	15	12	8	13	10	4	11	10	4	13	11	5	15	13	5	16
WChill °C	15	5	14	10	5	11	8	0	9	8	1	12	10	3	15	13	3	16
Freezing level (m)	4150	4100	4000	3900	3850	3350	3500	3300	3150	3450	3650	3450	3650	3750	3750	3950	3950	3800
Sunrise	-	-	4:52	-	-	4:54	-	-	4:54	-	-	4:54	-	-	4:56	-	-	4:56
Sunset	20:20	-	-	20:20	-	-	20:19	-	-	20:19	-	-	20:17	-	-	20:17	-	-

The above table gives the weather forecast for Abries-Ristolas at the specific elevation of 2000 m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom stations of Abries-Ristolas. To access the weather forecasts for the other elevations, use the tab navigation above the table. For a wider view of the weather, check out the Weather Map" of France.

NOTE ABOUT FREEZING LEVELS AND TEMPERATURES
The freezing level that we forecast Abries-Ristolas is the  free air freezing level. (More specifically, it is the uppermost free air freezing level). This means that all of the air above this elevation is below freezing however it does not necessarily imply that all of the air below it is above freezing.  We provide this because it best describes the level where falling snow first starts to turn to rain. On average, snowflakes only stay frozen for about 100 metres (300 feet) below the free air freezing level. That's because air temperatures usually increase steadily as you descend - but not always.  For example, a temperature inversion describes a pool of cold air near the ground with a layer of warmer air above it. This is a common occurrence in winter when the wind is light. Such pools of dense cold air can vary from a few metres to several kilometres deep and can persist from hours to several weeks. In an inversion, it can be simultaneously below freezing in a mountain valley, and also at a nearby summit, yet above freezing at some elevation in between. Most visitors to the Alps are very familiar with this. Such conditions can allow snow to fall much more than the usual 100 metres below the top freezing level, even reaching the valley, just as long as snow did not pass through enough warm air to melt. Otherwise, freezing rain or re-frozen soft hail (there is even a German word for it - graupel) reaches the valley instead. Our forecasts allow for these possibilities which is why you may see forecasts of snowfall and frost at elevations far below the free-air freezing level, or valley temperatures that are lower than summit temperatures. You may even see forecasts of rain to fall even though it is just below freezing at the surface - that happens if our model predicts that there is a deep warm layer just above. None of these are as contradictory as they may seem at first.

All of our temperature forecasts for Abries-Ristolas are for the ground, not the air. These can be very different to free-air temperatures, especially at night. This can lead to what looks like a contradiction. Because the ground is such a good radiator of heat (especially on clear nights when there is a snow cover and the wind is light) surface temperatures often fall more than far below the free air temperatures - sometimes by more than 10 degrees. On such occasions, the snowpack freezes at elevations that are far below the free air freezing level. For example, in the European Alps, snow tends to freeze in valleys on still clear and still nights  even if the free air freezing level is above 3000m simply because snow is so efficient radiating its heat away. In reality there are two freezing levels; one just above the snow surface and another at 3000m with a layer of warmer temperatures in between where the snow may not freeze at all. In summary, the reason we provide surface temperatures is because these determine the condition of the snowpack.

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