Snow for Christmas
Eurotripper
Posted on: Mon, 26/05/2008 - 13:33
If I’m able to take a vacation during December, where in Europe would you recommend a trip so that I could have Christmas with snow? We don’t get snow down south.
Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, and end up getting charged double.
Hard to say… it hasn’t really snowed very much in most of Europe in the last decade or so. I’d say your best bet would be to just go to the mountains somewhere (Switzerland perhaps)... other than that, European winters are kind of like Philadelphia… it could snow, but it’s more likely that it’ll be like 40 and rainy.
If you want some guaranteed snow, go to Minnesota or nothern Maine
All of my trips have been in winter. Like Feicht said, mountains are your only true guarantee. Two separate years I spent new years in central europe (germany, czech, poland, etc) and upon arriving it was just beginning to snow, basically right around the end of December they were getting their first good snow. Coastal areas will be even less likely to have any. So yeah you might plan to visit some semi-mountainous regions just to be sure.
But you shouldn’t need any extreme elevation, no mile high type stuff, 2 thousand or so feet should have snow, something like Salzburg maybe. Tranyslvania region got its first good snow about mid November when I was there.
Tallinn, no question. I went there in late February this year and it was COLD! Annoyingly, it started to snow on our last day. Definitely consider Tallinn if you’re looking for a beautiful city with a lot of character and a snowy Christmas!
Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Tallin, St. Petersberg are all cities that probably will have snow by Christmas.
Hard to say… it hasn’t really snowed very much in most of Europe in the last decade or so.
Except the winter of 2005/06. Four months of 0 Fahrenheit temperatures and a couple of feet of snow all across Europe.
Snow always occurs in mountaineous areas with elevation above 1000-1500 m (Balkans, Carpathians, Alps, Scandinavia). It’s not necessary to climb to high altitudes, being in a city that is surrounded by mountains that block the influx of air from the nearest sea is usually enough, so be sure there are mountains between your town and the sea. North of 55th parallel, snowfall should be guaranteed.
When I consider my home town (Presov, Slovakia – elevation 235 m, 49th parallel, surrounded by mountains) – out of last 10 Christmas holidays we had snow in about 6 cases. Temperature below 0 Fahrenheit occured 7 times, temperature below 0 Celsius occured 9 times.
If you have any questions about Prague or Czech and Slovak republics, ask me.
Generally speaking:
The further away from sea level, the closer to higher altitudes (this one is fairly obvious). Wherever there’s mountainous regions or high altitudes, even as far south as Sicily. Austria is a safe bet as much of the country is high altitude.
The further away from the Atlantic, the closer to the Urals. The Atlantic Ocean [more specifically the Gulf Stream] has a moderating effect on the climates of countries like Britain and Ireland, as well as northern France, making these places warmer in the winter than their latitudes would suggest. So, no snow in the UK, but there are good chances of it in inland Germany and Poland, and definitely in Russia.
The further away from the Mediterranean, the closer to the Arctic. This one is fairly obvious. Thus, snow is uncommon in Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, Portugal; however relatively low-lying areas in these countries are no strangers to occasional heavy snowfall. It can happen, it just doesn’t happen on a regular basis. The further north you go, away from the Med towards the Arctic, snow becomes more common, except in areas affected by the Atlantic Gulf Stream.
Your best bets are: Eastern, Central, Nordic, Balkan. Least likely: Western/Atlantic and Southern/Med.
Luv (And I mean that in the most platonic way) what do you do in Europe?
You’ve probably written it before but I can’t remember.
Thanks.
Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, and end up getting charged double.
Do you mean what I do for a living? I live in the US right now.
Or do you mean, what do I do when I go to Europe?
Late-Dec. or Early-Jan.??? Odds pretty good that you will get snow between Christmas Eve & NY’s Day in:
Northern Austria, Switzerland, & all over Scandanavia…Mike@havebeerwilltravel.com
Or do you mean, what do I do when I go to Europe?
When in Europe. I was thinking that you worked there.
Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, and end up getting charged double.
Look at a globe. Put your finger on central Norway and travel West on the same latitude (or is it longitude). Look where you end up in Canada! Would you want to be there on Christmas? You get about 4-6 hours of “sort of” daylight. In Copenhagen, the shortest day of the year is about 7.5 hours long, although there is no snow.
OK. if you cross-country ski, get a Frommers winter sports guide and look up Vinstra in Norway. It’s north of Lillehammer. There lie some hotels that cater exclusively to cross-country skiiers. But Norwegian food is awful.
Yes, the winters are warmer. Your best bet for a fun time is somewhere in the Swiss, Austrian, or Italian Tyrol. Frommers covers all the resorts, or used to. Family style resorts are cheaper than the jet set resorts and the skiing is always good. Look up the Stubai glacier and the samll town of Fulpmos (sp?) near-by. I have had fun with my family there.
About the daylight duration, you’re right. But if we compare the same latitude (let’s say, 55 degrees north) in North America versus Europe, we’ll find Europe noticeably warmer, due to the Gulf Stream, carrying warm waters from the Caribbean to the northern shores of Scandinavia. Murmansk in Russia is a port that is ice-free all year round, yet it is north from Arctic Circle (69 degrees). It is more to the north than Iceland or Great Bear Lake in Canada.
The spelling is Fulpmes. It is reachable from Innsbruck with a scenic narrow-gauge train (or is it a tram?) called the Stubaithalbahn (Stubai valley railroad).
If you have any questions about Prague or Czech and Slovak republics, ask me.
You are absolutely right, but it’s still really really cold in central Norway in December! Austria is much nicer – much more like Utah or Colorado. Thanks for the clarification on Fulpmes. Great valley in the summer, too.