Val Thorens weather and snow depth by month: what to expect

Val Thorens weather by month: temperature and snow

January is the coldest month in Val Thorens, with an average low of −10.3 °C, and March has the most snow on the ground, 152 cm on average. We calculated the table from the monthly data Météo-France publishes for its station in the village, VAL THORENS_SAPC, at 2,277 m: temperatures over the eight winters 2018/19 to 2025/26, snow over the seven winters since 2019/20, the first with snow data. It describes recent winters, not a forecast.

What the table shows: in January it stayed at or below 0 °C all day on 20 days, on average, and the low fell to −10 °C or below on 16. The coldest reading of these winters was −21.6 °C, on 11 January 2019. November and April share an average low of −4.9 °C, but April afternoons are warmer.

Snow depth is measured at a single point, the station in the village; on the pistes and higher up it can be quite different.

Gaps in the data: eight days of temperature readings are missing in March 2020, so March temperatures come from seven winters, and about half the monthly snow figures, every April among them and the 249 cm peak of March 2020, have so far passed only Météo-France's first-level checks. May is for reference: the lifts close on 2 May 2027.

When is there the most snow in Val Thorens?

From February to April: the station in the village averaged 140 cm of snow on the ground in February, 152 cm in March and 143 cm in April. The deepest month varies from year to year, and so does the depth: March averaged 113 cm in 2022 but 223 cm in 2020. In the seven winters from 2019/20 to 2025/26, the snow peaked each year between 20 February and 17 April, at 151 to 249 cm; the highest reading was 249 cm, on 6 March 2020.

The snow cover holds from January to April: in all seven winters the station had more than 30 cm on every day of those four months. February half-term falls in the deep-snow months; to pick a week by crowds and prices, see when to go to Val Thorens.

What about fresh snow? Météo-France's files give no new-snow figure for this station, only precipitation, measured in millimetres like rain. In the six winters with complete records, November to April averaged 7 to 12 days a month with at least 1 mm of snow or rain, the fewest in February and the most in December; single months ranged from none (February 2023) to 18 days (November 2023).

Is there snow in Val Thorens in November and December?

Yes, but less than later in the season, and it varies a lot from winter to winter: the station averaged 23 cm in November and 75 cm in December. Val Thorens and Orelle open on 21 November 2026 and the links to the rest of Les 3 Vallées on 5 December 2026. The last seven winters at the station:

Christmas and New Year: in all seven winters there was snow on the ground at the station on every day of December, and in six of them more than 30 cm all month.

A thin start can still end in deep snow: in 2025/26 the station averaged 51 cm in December and 84 cm in January, the lowest January of these winters, then reached 231 cm on 20 February 2026. In 2022/23, though, a thin December (49 cm) was followed by the thinnest February of the seven winters (82 cm). Nobody can promise next winter's snow.

Why does the altitude of Val Thorens matter?

Because the higher you go, the colder it is and the longer the snow lasts: the village is at 2,300 m and the ski area climbs to 3,230 m on the Orelle side, according to Les 3 Vallées. SETAM, the Val Thorens lift company, says 99% of its ski area lies above 2,000 m.

Météo-France's rule of thumb is that, in the standard atmosphere, the temperature drops by about 0.65 °C for every 100 m you climb, so it is some 6 °C colder at 3,230 m than in the village. Not every day, though: in settled high-pressure weather with clear skies, cold air collects in the valleys overnight and it can be milder higher up, which is known as a temperature inversion.

At the village station itself, the average high from December to February stays between −2.1 and 0.7 °C, and the snow builds up from 75 cm on average in December to 152 cm in March.

And snowmaking? The Les 3 Vallées press kit for 2026/27 counts 2,838 snow guns covering 54% of the whole Les 3 Vallées ski area. They help, but no one can promise snow or open pistes, and Météo-France notes that climate change has already reduced the snow cover in the mountains, mainly at low and mid altitude.

What to wear in Val Thorens each month

Full winter clothing from November to April: even in April, the mildest month of the season, the average low at the station is −4.9 °C.

• November: the season starts cold, with an average low of −4.9 °C. Thermal base layer, fleece, ski jacket and trousers, gloves and a hat.
• December to February: midwinter. The average low is −7.4 °C in December, and in January even the average high is below zero, at −2.1 °C. A warm base layer, a neck warmer and thick gloves or mittens.
• March: mornings as cold as in February, −8.0 °C on average, but an average high of 2.0 °C. A layer you can take off, sun cream and sunglasses.
• April: average lows of −4.9 °C and highs of 4.4 °C; the warmest April day of these winters reached 10.8 °C. Lighter layers, sun cream and sunglasses.

Whatever the month, wear layers you can add or remove during the day, and dress for the top of the mountain rather than the village.

Is there snow in Val Thorens in March and April?

Yes: in all seven winters from 2019/20 to 2025/26 the station had more than 30 cm of snow on every day of March and April, with averages of 152 cm and 143 cm. Val Thorens and Orelle stay open until 2 May 2027, two weeks after the links to the rest of Les 3 Vallées close on 18 April.

On sunny spring days the snow often changes as the day goes on, firm after a cold night and softer once the sun has warmed it, which is why many skiers start early. Nights stay cold, with frost on 26 of April's 30 days on average, and the days are long: on 15 April the sun rises at 06:49 and sets at 20:19 over a flat horizon, according to sunrise-sunset.org, against 08:06 and 16:51 on 15 December. Behind the peaks it rises later and sets earlier.

By May the snow is melting: in each of the seven winters the station's deepest May reading came in the first week, at 81 to 160 cm depending on the year. Spring weeks in our apartments, live:

In our apartments, an April week costs about a third as much as a week in mid-February. More on prices: Val Thorens apartment prices.

Where to check the forecast, the snow and the avalanche risk

Start with Météo-France, the French weather service: its mountain forecast for Val Thorens runs up to 15 days ahead, and its avalanche bulletin for the Vanoise massif rates the danger from 1 to 5. The pages to check in the days before you leave, and each morning in the resort:

• Météo-France's mountain forecast, in French, for the resort and for Val Thorens at 3,200 m, with the avalanche bulletin in winter.
• The avalanche bulletin (BERA) for the Vanoise massif, on meteofrance.com: it rates the danger on the European scale from 1 (low) to 5 (very high), describes the snow conditions, forecasts the danger until the following evening and estimates the off-piste snow depth at several altitudes.
• The tourist office's snow report: snow depth at the bottom and top of the resort, last snowfall, rain/snow limit, freezing level, avalanche risk, and the lifts and pistes open in real time.
• The Les 3 Vallées forecast for Val Thorens: mornings and afternoons, the village (2,300 m) and Cime Caron (3,200 m), for three days plus a trend for the week.
• Webcams, the tourist office's and those of Les 3 Vallées, from the resort centre (2,300 m) to Cime Caron (3,200 m): see over breakfast whether the sun is out above the clouds.
• The Les 3 Vallées app: live snow conditions and forecasts and, according to Les 3 Vallées, alerts about technical problems or changes in the weather.
• On stormy days, the ‘Live info’ page of SETAM's website: it shows which lifts, pistes and 3 Vallées links are open, and its status key includes bad weather, high wind and technical problems. SETAM's piste map advises against the 3 Vallées circuit when the weather is too uncertain: stuck in another valley, you return at your own cost.

For drivers: from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027, in the mountain areas listed by each prefect, cars must either have four winter tyres with the 3PMSF marking or carry snow chains or snow socks, says the French government's Service Public site (in French); the official list it links to covers every commune in Savoie, Les Belleville (Val Thorens) and Orelle included. Routes: how to get to Val Thorens.

Once you have picked your month, see our apartments in Val Thorens and the Val Thorens ski pass prices for 2026/27.