10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Hautes-Alpes, France · 1200m to 2800m
Over the last 10 seasons Serre Chevalier, France has averaged 479cm of snowfall, a peak snow depth of 191cm, 8 powder days and 23 bluebird days a year, with skiable cover from around 14 November to 30 May.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Serre Chevalier
479 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
191 cm
Peak depth
typical season high
8
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
23
Bluebird days
sun after snow
19
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
187
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Serre Chevalier, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
76 cm
120 cm
2 mm
6.7 h
-2° / -10°
1.3
3.8
0.4
Feb
60 cm
142 cm
3 mm
7.7 h
1° / -8°
1.0
2.0
0.3
Mar
74 cm
154 cm
3 mm
9.1 h
2° / -7°
1.1
4.3
0.6
Apr
54 cm
136 cm
9 mm
10.5 h
5° / -4°
1.0
2.3
2.4
May
38 cm
90 cm
53 mm
11.3 h
9° / 0°
0.2
2.1
11.5
Jun
1 cm
9 cm
81 mm
13.3 h
17° / 6°
0.0
0.0
14.3
Jul
0 cm
0 cm
58 mm
14.0 h
20° / 8°
0.0
0.0
10.0
Aug
2 cm
0 cm
69 mm
12.3 h
19° / 7°
0.1
0.1
8.4
Sep
3 cm
0 cm
73 mm
10.4 h
15° / 4°
0.0
0.0
9.7
Oct
27 cm
3 cm
95 mm
8.1 h
10° / 0°
0.7
0.5
9.3
Nov
86 cm
35 cm
17 mm
6.6 h
2° / -5°
1.9
4.2
3.1
Dec
93 cm
92 cm
7 mm
6.1 h
-1° / -8°
1.5
3.8
0.9
Averages across the last 10 seasons. Powder, bluebird and rain columns are the average number of such days per month.
Season by season
Season
Snowfall
Peak depth
Powder days
Bluebird days
Skiable days
2025/26
412 cm
170 cm
7
16
107
2024/25
459 cm
165 cm
7
19
186
2023/24best
700 cm
246 cm
15
34
212
2022/23
399 cm
154 cm
7
21
188
2021/22leanest
322 cm
134 cm
6
16
182
2020/21
436 cm
140 cm
5
22
174
2019/20
539 cm
253 cm
8
23
207
2018/19
402 cm
193 cm
6
18
212
2017/18
674 cm
261 cm
11
30
195
2016/17
450 cm
190 cm
8
26
204
How these numbers are calculated
Powder day — at least 15cm of new snow in 24 hours.
Bluebird day — sunshine for at least 60% of daylight, following at least 10cm of snow over the previous 3 days.
Rain day — at least 1mm of rain (not snow) at this elevation.
Skiable day — at least 30cm of settled snow on the ground.
Snow depth is modelled from Open-Meteo / ERA5 reanalysis at 2000m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Serre Chevalier compares
Measured against 40 other resorts across 18 countries, each analysed exactly the same way. The line down the middle of each bar is the median.
Snowfall per season
well above average
479 cm
Ahead of 85% of resortsMedian 283 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Peak snow depth
well above average
191 cm
Ahead of 88% of resortsMedian 84 cm
How deep the settled base gets at its yearly high.
Powder days
among the very best we track
8
Ahead of 90% of resortsMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
among the very best we track
23
Ahead of 98% of resortsMedian 10
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
19
Drier than 77% of resortsMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
well above average
187
Ahead of 85% of resortsMedian 115
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
The season at Serre Chevalier
Typical stretch holding 30cm or more of settled snow, averaged over the record.
SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Cover arrives
14 November
Season ends
30 May
Days of cover
199 days
When to go
These rarely land in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most before you book.
Deepest base
March
154cm average depth
Most new snow
December
93cm and 1.5 powder days
Best bluebird odds
March
4.3 bluebird days, 9.1h sun a day
Wettest month
May
11.5 rain days
Is Serre Chevalier a good place to ski?
heavy snowfalla deep, reliable basefrequent powder daysplenty of bluebird daysvery little raina long season
On 10 years of record, Serre Chevalier stands out for heavy snowfall, a deep, reliable base, frequent powder days, plenty of bluebird days, very little rain and a long season.
All of these figures come from 2000m, the mid-mountain height, and describe an average year rather than the one you are about to book. Snow depth here is modelled from reanalysis rather than measured on the hill, so treat it as a guide to how Serre Chevalier usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Serre Chevalier snow record in detail
How much snow does Serre Chevalier get?
Serre Chevalier averages 479cm of snowfall over a full season, measured from November to May across the last 10 winters. That is well above average: more snow than 85% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median season brings 283cm.
Season to season the spread is wide. The best of the last 10 winters was 2023/24 with 700cm, and the leanest was 2021/22 with 322cm — a difference of 378cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 412cm.
December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 93cm and 11 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Serre Chevalier?
Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Serre Chevalier the snowpack peaks at an average of 191cm each season. That is well above average, deeper than 88% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 84cm.
The base is deepest in March, averaging 154cm through the month and topping out around 177cm in a typical year.
How many powder days does Serre Chevalier get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Serre Chevalier averages 8 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than 90% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. December averages 1.5 of them, which is the single strongest argument for timing a trip around the middle of the season rather than the edges.
How often does Serre Chevalier get bluebird days?
A bluebird day means sunshine for at least 60% of daylight on the back of at least 10cm of snow in the previous 3 days — fresh snow and clear skies together, which is the combination people actually travel for. Serre Chevalier averages 23 of them a season. That is among the very best we track, more than 98% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median of 10.
March is the best month for it, averaging 4.3 bluebird days and 9.1 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Serre Chevalier?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Serre Chevalier sees an average of 19 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 23% of the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way see fewer wet days, against a median of 32.
May carries the most of it, with 11.5 rain days and 53mm in an average year. Bear in mind these figures are for the middle of the mountain: the base area will be wetter and the top drier.
When is the best time to ski Serre Chevalier, and when does the season end?
Serre Chevalier typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 14 November through to 30 May, which works out at roughly 199 days of skiable cover in an average year. 187 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is well above average compared with the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way.
In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 30 May. Anyone booking late in the season should be looking at the highest terrain here rather than the base, and anyone booking early should expect the upper mountain to open before the valley runs do.
If you want the deepest base, go in March. If you want the best chance of fresh snow, go in December. If you want fresh snow and sunshine together, March gives the most bluebird days. Those rarely fall in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most to you before you book.
Comparisons use 40 resorts across 18 countries, each measured over 5 recent seasons at mid-mountain height. Glaciated locations, where the model never melts the snow out, are excluded. Figures for Serre Chevalier are taken at 2000m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.