Europe to have warm winter, but Winter Olympics will get ample snow

Much of Europe will have dry, warm weather in December, January and February but venues of the Olympic Winter Games will get ample snow, forecasters say. A storm track affecting part of Europe during late October into early November will shift, they said. "The main storm track will set up farther to the north and east than what we typically see during most of the winter and will have a significant effect on temperatures and precipitation." AccuWeather Europe Weather Expert Alan Reppert said Wednesday. With most storms tracking to the north this winter, areas from Britain and France to Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy are likely to experience temperatures averaging near to above normal, AccuWeather forecast. In much of southwestern Russia, including Caucasus Mountains sites hosting the XXII Winter Olympics in February, snowfall is likely to be a little less than of average, it said, but should be sufficient in the Games' venues. Skiing, sledding and boarding events will take place at the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains within the Caucasus Range where 40-to-50 inches of snow is forecast to fall this winter. The majority of the snow for the season should have already fallen on the mountains near the host city of Sochi by the time the games begin, AccuWeather forecaster Jim Andrews said. "Snowfall in the nearby Caucasus Range varies greatly and increases with elevation, so even in a winter season where slightly below average snow is forecast, there should be plenty [of snow] on the slopes," he said. The head of the Russian Olympic committee said in June there will be enough snow on the mountainsides of Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics to proceed.