Every year we ask ourselves the same question: will it snow at Christmas? The first snow often falls in the weeks before. And unfortunately, disappointment often follows: the white splendor melts away again. Because it is actually the case that it often gets a little warmer at Christmas in Austria. This is a special weather phenomenon called the Christmas thaw. The reason for this is warmer, moist sea air. It flows from the West from the Atlantic into Central Europe and ensures that it rains more often here at the end of December. The rain naturally melts away the snow and ice. Climate change is also causing our winters to become warmer. That’s why there are fewer white Christmases than before. Whether we can look forward to snow on December 24th this year also depends on where you are. It generally snows more in the mountains. This year the chances in East Tyrol and parts of Carinthia are likely to be quite good. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like it in Vienna.
