Sappada is Located near a Mountain Pass (Shot), so It Is Subject to the Microclimatology of the Mountain Saddles Which Are the Lowest Places in a Chain or the Junction between Chains, as in the case of Cima Sappada Pass; Comelico/Carnia, FVG, Italia
05-December-2021: certainly the influence given by the proximity and the junction of the Pesariis Dolomites with the Carnic Alps, on which the Cima Sappada Pass opens, makes the Village (1247m a.s.l.) one of the snowiest in the Eastern Alps and also among the most cold at the same altitude, despite enjoying good sunshine, while the part next to the pass is more shady, which is the one in the photo, located at (only) 1298m a.s.l.
We can easily recognize these factors in the highest and most famous mountain passes, but the phenomenon occurs regardless of the altitude, as demonstrated by Cima Sappada Pass.
The orography of the mountain pass is fundamental in understanding why in these areas there is always (even with a modest altitude increase, or at the same altitude along the slopes) greater snow cover and a longer duration of the same on the ground compared to all the surrounding areas.
The mountain passes are areas where the masses of air spiked by the valleys come to converge and this guarantees more intense localized precipitations; furthermore, colder air is physically heavier than warm air and tends, in order to move from one area to another, to cross mountain passes rather than climb the steep slopes of the Chains...especially if the mountain saddle is much lower than the reliefs that host it and this explains why even mountain passes not much higher than the valleys that separate (such as the Sant'Osvaldo Pass, in the Friulian Dolomites) have a marked snow/cold microclimatology.
In summary, the contiguity with important mountain ranges and the convergence of air masses towards these openings favors more abundant precipitation, as well as an average lower snow level, by direct dragging, compared to open valleys, regardless of altitude; finally, the runoff of colder masses keeps the area covered with snow for longer periods.
About Low Mountain Passes, morphologically and micro-climatologically, the Cima Sappada Pass/Saddle recalls a Saddle (even lower, 1186m a.s.l.!) where these phenomena are further extreme which is called "Sella Nevea" (or Sella Nevea Pass, Julian Alps) where they are exploited to the maximum both the influences of the two important mountain ranges that meet there, that of Montasio and that of Canin, and the convergence of the currents that go up the Raccolana and Rio del Lago valleys of which the Saddle forms the watershed (Adriatic-Black Sea catchments!).
Sella Nevea, at an altitude where in most of the central-western Alps it is difficult to have an appreciable snow cover, is an area where snow often accumulates up to 1.5m instantaneously and on the ground it persists for about 6 months, from November to the end of April, being able to guarantee skiability to the largest ski resort in the FVG region.
That day, about 45cm of snow fell at Cima Sappada, while a little further downstream, even with temperatures everywhere below 0°C, snowfall was much less abundant, barely exceeding 10-15cm.
The microclimatology, that is the interaction between the local orography and the meteorological trend is very influential, often surprising.
Sappada is Located near a Mountain Pass (Shot), so It Is Subject to the Microclimatology of the Mountain Saddles Which Are the Lowest Places in a Chain or the Junction between Chains, as in the case of Cima Sappada Pass; Comelico/Carnia, FVG, Italia
05-December-2021: certainly the influence given by the proximity and the junction of the Pesariis Dolomites with the Carnic Alps, on which the Cima Sappada Pass opens, makes the Village (1247m a.s.l.) one of the snowiest in the Eastern Alps and also among the most cold at the same altitude, despite enjoying good sunshine, while the part next to the pass is more shady, which is the one in the photo, located at (only) 1298m a.s.l.
We can easily recognize these factors in the highest and most famous mountain passes, but the phenomenon occurs regardless of the altitude, as demonstrated by Cima Sappada Pass.
The orography of the mountain pass is fundamental in understanding why in these areas there is always (even with a modest altitude increase, or at the same altitude along the slopes) greater snow cover and a longer duration of the same on the ground compared to all the surrounding areas.
The mountain passes are areas where the masses of air spiked by the valleys come to converge and this guarantees more intense localized precipitations; furthermore, colder air is physically heavier than warm air and tends, in order to move from one area to another, to cross mountain passes rather than climb the steep slopes of the Chains...especially if the mountain saddle is much lower than the reliefs that host it and this explains why even mountain passes not much higher than the valleys that separate (such as the Sant'Osvaldo Pass, in the Friulian Dolomites) have a marked snow/cold microclimatology.
In summary, the contiguity with important mountain ranges and the convergence of air masses towards these openings favors more abundant precipitation, as well as an average lower snow level, by direct dragging, compared to open valleys, regardless of altitude; finally, the runoff of colder masses keeps the area covered with snow for longer periods.
About Low Mountain Passes, morphologically and micro-climatologically, the Cima Sappada Pass/Saddle recalls a Saddle (even lower, 1186m a.s.l.!) where these phenomena are further extreme which is called "Sella Nevea" (or Sella Nevea Pass, Julian Alps) where they are exploited to the maximum both the influences of the two important mountain ranges that meet there, that of Montasio and that of Canin, and the convergence of the currents that go up the Raccolana and Rio del Lago valleys of which the Saddle forms the watershed (Adriatic-Black Sea catchments!).
Sella Nevea, at an altitude where in most of the central-western Alps it is difficult to have an appreciable snow cover, is an area where snow often accumulates up to 1.5m instantaneously and on the ground it persists for about 6 months, from November to the end of April, being able to guarantee skiability to the largest ski resort in the FVG region.
That day, about 45cm of snow fell at Cima Sappada, while a little further downstream, even with temperatures everywhere below 0°C, snowfall was much less abundant, barely exceeding 10-15cm.
The microclimatology, that is the interaction between the local orography and the meteorological trend is very influential, often surprising.