How snow-sure is Livigno?

At Livigno, there was enough natural snow at Christmas in 26 of the 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14: at least 30 cm on 10 or more of the 14 days from 22 December to 4 January at mid-mountain (2,300 m; pistes 1,810–2,792 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 9.2 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 12.1 in 1986–2005. Source: Copernicus C3S, Sondrio region.

How it works ↓

Data: C3S UERRA reanalysis, winters 1984/85–2013/14; EURO-CORDEX scenarios to 2060 · calculated 3 November 2026 · Methodology and sources

26 of 30Snowy Christmases · natural snow

30 of 30Snowy Christmases · with snowmaking

160Days ≥ 30 cm per season · natural snow

More snowy Christmases than 85% of ski resorts in Italy and than 67% of the 690 European resorts on this site.

Christmas, year by year

1984/852013/14

Each box is one Christmas holiday (22 December to 4 January): the darker, the more days with at least 30 cm of natural snow. Outlined: at least 10 of the 14 days.

Christmases without enough natural snow (2,300 m): 1993/94, 1997/98, 2000/01, 2004/05.

Every winter in numbers

Winter	Days ≥ 30 cm, natural snow	Days ≥ 30 cm, with snowmaking
1984/85	14 of 14	14 of 14
1985/86	14 of 14	14 of 14
1986/87	14 of 14	14 of 14
1987/88	10 of 14	14 of 14
1988/89	14 of 14	14 of 14
1989/90	14 of 14	14 of 14
1990/91	14 of 14	14 of 14
1991/92	14 of 14	14 of 14
1992/93	14 of 14	14 of 14
1993/94	5 of 14	14 of 14
1994/95	14 of 14	14 of 14
1995/96	14 of 14	14 of 14
1996/97	14 of 14	14 of 14
1997/98	0 of 14	14 of 14
1998/99	10 of 14	14 of 14
1999/00	14 of 14	14 of 14
2000/01	0 of 14	14 of 14
2001/02	14 of 14	14 of 14
2002/03	14 of 14	14 of 14
2003/04	14 of 14	14 of 14
2004/05	0 of 14	14 of 14
2005/06	14 of 14	14 of 14
2006/07	14 of 14	14 of 14
2007/08	14 of 14	14 of 14
2008/09	14 of 14	14 of 14
2009/10	14 of 14	14 of 14
2010/11	14 of 14	14 of 14
2011/12	14 of 14	14 of 14
2012/13	14 of 14	14 of 14
2013/14	14 of 14	14 of 14

Livigno is snow-sure at Christmas, and it is height above all that keeps it that way: mid-mountain lies at 2,300 m, and there was natural snow for the holidays in 26 of 30 winters (1984/85–2013/14). The misses are rare and scattered across the series: 1993/94, 1997/98, 2000/01, 2004/05. On this count Livigno beats 85% of the ski resorts in Italy.

A high base and an early start

The most useful thing here for the holidays is that even the bottom is high. The lowest run at 1,810 m sits above the mid-mountain of many resorts, and even there it has collected 21 snowy Christmases out of 30. Continuous natural snow cover in a typical winter settles by 25 November and holds until 13 May, so December already falls inside the season. Neighbouring Bormio at 2,100 m scored 28 of 30, and Santa Caterina in the same region shows the same numbers as Livigno. That margin is not forever: models for 2041–2060 (RCP4.5) give 9.2 snowy days at Christmas out of 14 against 12.1 in the model reference 1986–2005 (methodology). This is climate and scenarios, not a forecast for the season. You can book Livigno for Christmas with confidence.

Bottom, middle, top

Piste heights and Christmases with enough natural snow (of 30); light: snow-sure (≥ 25 of 30)

Level	m	C3S height band	Snowy Christmases	Days ≥ 30 cm per season
Bottom (lowest run)	1,810	1,800	21 of 30	106
Mid-mountain	2,301	2,300	26 of 30	160
Top (highest run)	2,792	2,800	30 of 30	209

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	160
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	192
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	194
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	25 November – 13 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	14 November – 26 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)

Christmases with enough natural snow: 13 of 15 in 1984/85–1998/99, 13 of 15 in 1999/2000–2013/14. Snow days (≥ 30 cm) per season on average: 161 and 160.

What about the future? Climate scenarios

Days ≥ 30 cm per season, natural snow – climate-model average

Period	Christmas, days natural	Christmas, days with snowmaking	Season, days natural	Season, days with snowmaking
Models, reference 1986–2005	12.1	14.0	159	195
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	9.8	13.7	142	184
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	9.2	13.8	130	178
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	9.6	14.0	132	177
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	6.8	13.9	112	165

Average of several regional climate models (EURO-CORDEX). Compare the scenarios with the model reference 1986–2005, not with the yearly values above: models and reanalysis have different errors. Scenarios are not forecasts.

Same numbers as

The data describe a region and a 100 m height band, not individual runs. These resorts lie in the same region at the same mid-mountain band: Santa Caterina.

The resort

Country	Italy
Region (NUTS-3)	Sondrio (ITC44)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	83 km
Pistes from … to	1,810–2,792 m
Lifts	37
Map	OpenStreetMap

What the numbers mean

“Snow” here means at least 30 cm of snow depth in the model (Crocus) — enough to ski on, not just a white field.
The model works per region (NUTS-3) and 100 m height band, not per piste; north-facing slopes, wind and glaciers are not taken into account.
The reanalysis ends with the 2013/14 winter. More recent winters are not included.
“With snowmaking” is the model's typical snowmaking, not the resort's actual equipment.

How we calculate