I was recently in the Switzerland Alps around Interlaken (Eiger, Munch, Jungfrau ...)for hiking. Now I wanted to fly in this area. But, why the word not allowed MSFS 2024 still does not recognize correct temperatures and snow coverage. I cannot set live weather ON (which is 30+ °C since more than a week). We have August but MSFS still produces heavy snow coverage down to the lakes around Interlaken at less than 2000 ft. Even in the Winter, snow is not so common down in that valley. It is very disappointing. Or am I doing something wrong?

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by Nemo

I can confirm that it is a bug that has meanwhile been logged by a number of people, including by me :)

MSFS consistently gets weather/precipitation in the southern hemisphere totally wrong (I'm in New Zealand) - in spite of the fact that it can source relatively accurate temperatures etc. from METARs - and has all the topography info for altitudes (and therefore snow lines). Why it can't work it out from all that, I just don't know.

Because they use a rather low res meteoblue snow coverage map. In one of the Q&As it was basically confirmed by the devs and that they look into it. This was in MSFS2020 and already there it took them three Q&As until they finally just understood what users are talking about. Now in MSFS2024 it is bad again, obviously nothing was done about it. Means: yes, sadly you can fly around Alps (not only Switzerland) only using a weather preset or a weather addon, otherwise you get this totally borked snow coverage. 

BUT: you are a wonderful example why this issue gets so little attention, most people do not really recognize it (besides some who do really not care or anyway only fly with weather presets/weather addons) and thus the corresponding threads in the official forums still do not have enough votes to make it into a top 10 or maybe top 25 bug list. It is a bummer and kills immersion since years and I avoid flying in my homeland due to this. 

In the end it is just another living example of a bug that they simply ignore, although it also affects parts of their own country. Do I understand this? No...

Am curious - is anyone having this issue using Active Sky or is this native to MSFS only ?

As I wrote, using an external weather addon alleviates the issue.

1 hour ago, AnkH said:

Because they use a rather low res meteoblue snow coverage map. In one of the Q&As it was basically confirmed by the devs and that they look into it. This was in MSFS2020 and already there it took them three Q&As until they finally just understood what users are talking about. Now in MSFS2024 it is bad again, obviously nothing was done about it. Means: yes, sadly you can fly around Alps (not only Switzerland) only using a weather preset or a weather addon, otherwise you get this totally borked snow coverage. 

BUT: you are a wonderful example why this issue gets so little attention, most people do not really recognize it (besides some who do really not care or anyway only fly with weather presets/weather addons) and thus the corresponding threads in the official forums still do not have enough votes to make it into a top 10 or maybe top 25 bug list. It is a bummer and kills immersion since years and I avoid flying in my homeland due to this. 

In the end it is just another living example of a bug that they simply ignore, although it also affects parts of their own country. Do I understand this? No...

Very nice and clear answer. Thank you, Chris. The ignorance of MS/Asobo is sometimes terrifying.

I think Active Sky does a better job with that. Presently flying in NZ and with default wx I get snow at some places like nzmf but not with AS.

Yes, NZMF or more precisely the whole Milford Sound region is another one of those all-year snow blobs never fixed since it was reported. But as long as those bug reports only get 60 votes or less, it will never end up on their agenda again. 

As meteoblue HAS the data we would need in the sim, it is even more frustrating. They would simply need the correct data from the partner meteoblue, so I really do NOT get why it is still an issue and I can only speculate that they again do not get the point at all, because they "already did so much to fix it". 

PS: basically the same applies for this bug here: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/zurich-photogrammetry-buildings-overlapped-by-procedural-autogen-buildings/690084/38 it is an absolute immersion killer for one of the D-A-CH regions which even has two WU covering it. Still a massive part of central and north-eastern Switzerland is totally broken if photogrammetry is on, not only no buildings, but also ridiculously wrong, washed out colours. And what you get? 65 votes...

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by AnkH

From what I’ve read the blame belongs less with MS/Asobo and more with New Zealand’s closed and restricted WX service.

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/nz/news/catastrophe/what-is-wrong-with-new-zealands-weather-forecasting-system-455276.aspx

-B

30 minutes ago, btacon said:

From what I’ve read the blame belongs less with MS/Asobo and more with New Zealand’s closed and restricted WX service.

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/nz/news/catastrophe/what-is-wrong-with-new-zealands-weather-forecasting-system-455276.aspx

-B

That may be true for NZ, but not for the European Alps. 

53 minutes ago, Nemo said:

That may be true for NZ, but not for the European Alps. 

Agreed

Juneau Alaska is also covered in snow year round according to Asobo.

8 hours ago, Nemo said:

Or am I doing something wrong?

Yes, living under a rock. 🙃

Complaining about something that we have all been complaining about ever since the snow coverage got introduced. 😉

 

There are certain areas that seem to especially prone to faulty coverage. Interlaken and Zermatt are two of them in the Alps. Milford Sound is one in NZ.

6 hours ago, AnkH said:

and thus the corresponding threads in the official forums still do not have enough votes to make it into a top 10

268 votes is not enough?

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/snow-coverage-still-not-right/614608

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by Farlis

11 minutes ago, Farlis said:

268 votes is not enough?

It still amazes me how they released this sim with the exact same issues of 2020. And in some cases even worse than 2020.  

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by roi1862