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WEATHER

Switzerland freezes in coldest night of winter so far

Thursday night to Friday morning in Switzerland was the coldest night of winter to date, with temperatures dropping to nearly minus 30 degrees in some parts of the country, said MeteoNews on Friday.

Switzerland freezes in coldest night of winter so far
The village of La Brevine holds the record for Switzerland's lowest temperature. Photo: Caroline Bishop
The commune of La Brévine, a village in the Jura mountains near Neuchâtel, was the coldest in the country early on Friday morning, reaching a low of -29.9C. 
 
Thanks to its unusual microclimate La Brévine is regularly the coldest place in Switzerland and holds the record for the lowest ever temperature, of -41.8C, reached in January 1987.
 
Last night this so-called ‘Siberia of Switzerland’, which sits at just 1,050m, was even colder than the Jungfraujoch – Switzerland’s highest railway station – which, despite being at 3,580m, was five degrees warmer, at -24C. 
 
 

 
On the Swiss lowlands, under 800m altitude, the village of Welshenrohr in the canton of Solothurn was the coldest, at -18.4C. 
 
The cities also felt the chill, with Zurich airport recording -13.3C and Freiburg -12.1C. 
 
After a long dry spell in December, Switzerland saw its first snowfall of the year across German-speaking parts earlier this week, with flurries also reaching the Lake Geneva region on Thursday. 
 
However the country will be mostly dry, bright and cold on Friday, with temperatures below freezing in many parts. 
 
The low temperatures will persist over the weekend.
 
Switzerland’s top five coldest places on January 6th (according to MeteoNews): 
 
La Brévine (1,050m) -29.9C   
 
Corvatsch (3,315m) -26.9C
 
Jungfraujoch (3,580m) -24C
 
Buffalora/Ofenpass (1,970m) -24C
 
Titlis (3,040m) -23.8C
 
 
The big chill is expected to last through the weekend. Source: MeteoSuisse

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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.

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