Want Snow? Head To Europe

Want snow? Head to the highways near the French Alps
Then get stranded, as these people did.  

Much of the snow has melted away in northern New England, putting a crimp in winter sports.
True, the downhill ski areas still have snow for skiing and riding, but it's pretty thin otherwise in most areas.

Winter cold is returning to the Northeast later today and will stay put for quite awhile, and there will be little snowfalls. Some mixed precipitation is due next Saturday, as it looks now.

But I don't see any whopper snowstorms for awhile, anyway.

Where do you go for snow, then. There's the northern Rockies in the U.S., where winter storm warnings are flying for up to a foot of new snow, on top of recent snowfalls there.

If you really want snow, though, head to the French Alps. The only problem is, if you do it today. (Yeah, right) you might have trouble getting there.

A very heavy snowfall has stranded up to 15,000 travelers as roads became treacherous in the storm, and many people didn't put chains on their tires in time.

In addition to all that snow in the French Alps, gales have cut power in areas of Britain and France. Paris is expecting its first freeze in at least a year, and snow has spread to wide areas of Europe, including the Netherlands, Germany and the Balkans.

For those New Englanders who can't travel, the snow will return eventually, for those who want it. Much of the first half of January looks like it will be on the cold side, which gives us chances for some snow anyway.

Maybe we'll get flurried to death like we often do in the northern New England mountains. An inch here, two inches there. Over time, that adds up, as long as we don't get any mega thaws again.