GENEVA-
Spring blossoms are popping up all over the Austrian Alps. Geneva’s official chestnut tree has already sprouted leaves and flowers. And Swedes are still picking mushrooms. The same question is on everyone’s minds: Is winter in Europe going to be canceled this year?
Green fields, not white slopes, have greeted visitors to some of Europe’s most popular ski resorts this week as December began with remarkably little snow. Ski stations are sweating it out, desperately trying to entice tourists with spa weekends and Christmas markets, and encouraging visitors to bring their hiking shoes.
Though snow is expected throughout the Alps over the weekend, more warm temperatures are predicted early next week which will likely dissolve it. The sports clothing sector is scrambling to sell its winter collections. And fruit producers are alarmed.
A French Alps nursery salesman notes the trees are budding. Fruit trees now in bloom will have their flowers damaged later by winter frost.
The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says the Alps have as little as one-third the seasonal average of snow. Temperatures from Norway to the Mediterranean are up to 5 degrees warmer than normal.
