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Storm winds expected again in parts of Switzerland

Weather forecasters expect gale-force winds in Western Switzerland for a second day on Tuesday after storm Ruzica swept across northern Europe.

Published: 8 February 2016 21:28 CET
Storm winds expected again in parts of Switzerland
Two people were injured after this sign blew over in Paris. Photo: Brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris

On Monday, high winds disrupted passenger boat traffic on Lake Geneva, while gusts of over 100 kilometres an hour were recorded in Delémont (in the canton of Jura) and the city of Neuchâtel, the ATS news agency said.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, issued warnings of storm winds on Tuesday extending along the Jura Mountains from the canton of Vaud to the canton of Thurgau, as well as in the Chablais region of Valais, the Vaud Alps and Fribourg,

Two boat trips linking Lausanne and Thonon-les-Bains, France on the south side of Lake Geneva were cancelled on Monday afternoon, operator CGN said.

The company said that further disruptions were to be expected on Tuesday.

High winds also forced closure of ski lifts at resorts in the Bernese Oberland.

No deaths were initially reported but a tree fell on a car in the Simmental region of the canton of Bern, injuring the driver, ATS said.

The winds were caused by a storm caused by a low-pressure system that originated in the Atlantic.

Gusts of up to 150 kilometres an hour lashed Great Britain and over 140 km/h in northwest France.

A woman was left in a coma and another person was injured after an advertising billboard blew over in gale-force winds in Paris.

Thousands were left without electricity in Brittany and Normandy as power lines toppled.

Parts of Switzerland have seen remarkably high temperatures for this time of year after a warm Foehn wind blew through central parts of the country at the weekend.

MeteoSwiss said temperatures rose to 14 degrees in Altdorf in the canton of Uri on Monday, where the mercury is forecast to reach 16 degrees on Tuesday.

Basel can expect a high of 15 degrees on Tuesday, with a top reading of 14 degrees anticipated in Chur in the canton of Graubünden, with rain across the country.

Weather experts predict conditions will turn more wintry by Wednesday with snow forecast through the Alps.
 

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

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