SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Switzerland braces for wet and wintry weather

After a wetter than usual start to spring, Switzerland is bracing for a return to wintry conditions and snow in some locations over the next few days.

Switzerland braces for wet and wintry weather
Photo: Sebastian Bozon/AFP

Weather forecasters are predicting snow at elevations as low as 600 metres in some areas starting on Friday as a cold front descends on the country, bringing sub-zero temperatures to Alpine regions.

The canton of Graubünden in the eastern part of the country got a foretaste of things to come when heavy snow closed the road through the San Bernadino Pass on Wednesday night.

Tages Anzeiger reported that numerous vehicles were stranded and it said that roads will not be fully cleared until Thursday afternoon.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, predicts more snowfall in the pass, as well as places such as Samedan in Graubünden, where the high on Friday is expected to be only two degrees and Andermatt, in the canton of Uri, where the mercury will hover either side of zero.

Snow is also expected in Zermatt, the mountain resort town of Valais.

Most of Switzerland’s major cities can anticipate rain and cool conditions, with temperatures ranging between five and nine degrees in Zurich.

In Geneva, the national forecaster is calling for blustery conditions and a high of 11 degrees, with slightly cooler conditions on Saturday.

A return to more clement weather is only expected on Monday, when sunshine is predicted across the country and highs of up to 18 in places such as Geneva and Lugano in the canton of Ticino.

The Italian-speaking canton has suffered repeated flooding over the past few weeks, with Lake Maggiore and other lakes bursting beyond their banks.

Earlier this week, heavy rain washed out an access road to the mountain resort community of Les Crosets, in the canton of Valais, for the second time in a month.

The road to the resort, part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, is closed to traffic while repairs continue.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

SKIING

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

Two cross-country skiers have been killed in an avalanche near the plush resort of Klosters in southeast Switzerland, police said Saturday.

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

The accident happened on Friday, the Graubunden regional police said.

“In the Schintersiten area they took a slope with a steep gradient,” a police statement said.

“Several avalanches broke out and dragged the two men about 200 metres down the rocky terrain.

“As a result, both the 54-year-old and his 57-year-old companion, both of whom lived in the canton of Bern, were fatally injured.”

The Graubunden public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation alongside the cantonal police.

Before Friday’s accident, 12 people had lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland since October 1 last year, according to statistics from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

A total of 142 avalanche-related accidents have occurred, with 188 people swept away.

Earlier this month, six cross-country skiers went missing in a storm near the southern luxury resort of Zermatt. The group, aged 21 to 58, included five members of the same family.

Five bodies were recovered and the search for the sixth person was ultimately called off.

SHOW COMMENTS