Seven people were hit in a lightning strike during a soccer game on Sunday, as heavy rain over the weekend broke Switzerland's recent dry spell.
Three people were hospitalized after the incident on a soccer field in Canton Thurgau, northeastern Switzerland, said a report on the Corriere del Ticino newspaper.
The lightning stroke during a match between Sirnach and Weesen, two local teams playing in a minor league.
The heavy rainfall over the weekend brought relief after the longest dry spell on record in Switzerland, which has brought sunny weather and balmy temperatures across the country.
Ascension is not the only annual happening in the country in May, as Switzerland also ‘celebrates’ another 'chilling' event this month.
From May 11th to the 15th, a meteorological event takes place each year in Switzerland.
It “observes”, though admittedly not on scientific basis, a centuries-old weather phenomenon called “Ice Saints”.
What exactly is it?
As its name suggests, it is related to saints, as well as ice and frost.
The saints in question are St Mamertus, St Pancras, St Servatius and St Boniface.
According to a weather lore, once these Ice Saints have passed through Switzerland in the middle of May, frost will no longer pose a threat to farmers and their land.
As the official government meteorological service MeteoSwiss explains it, “spring frosts have been a regular occurrence for centuries, giving rise to the traditional belief that a blast of cold air often arrives in the middle of May. Over time, this piece of weather lore became known as the Ice Saints.”
Fact versus myth
You may be wondering whether the Ice Saints lore actually has basis in reality.
Records, which date back to 1965 and originate from the Geneva-Cointrin, Payerne, and Zurich-Kloten weather stations, “clearly show that, over the long-term average, frost directly above the soil is only a regular occurrence up until the middle of April”, MeteoSwiss says. “After that, the frequency with which ground frost occurs progressively declines to almost zero by the end of May.”
“We can conclude, therefore, that there is no evidence in Switzerland to confirm the Ice Saints as a period in May when ground frost is more common.”
However, MeteoSwiss does concede that “ground frost is nevertheless a regular occurrence throughout May as a whole…having occurred at least once or twice in May every year, and in around 40 percent of the years there were more than two days in May with ground frost.”
What about this year?
MeteoSwiss weather forecast for the next seven days indicates that, this year too, no frost will be present on the ground in mid-May.
In fact, temperatures through much of Switzerland will be in double digits, reaching between 18C and 25C, depending on the region.
You can see what to expect in your area, here.
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