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WEATHER

Swiss roads and rails blocked by avalanches and landslides

Many roads and railway lines across Switzerland were left seriously disrupted on Tuesday morning after heavy rain and snow battered the country in the previous days.

Published: 23 January 2018 09:33 CET
Swiss roads and rails blocked by avalanches and landslides
People walk through Davos in heavy snow. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Between Saturday and Monday up to 200cms of fresh snow fell in the southern Alps, while milder air in northern areas meant that fell as heavy rain, said MeteoSuisse. 
 
The situation raised the avalanche risk to the maximum 5 in many parts of the snow-covered Swiss Alps – though that was lowered to 4 on Tuesday morning – while flooding and landslides have hit lower altitude regions.
 
 
The Gotthard road tunnel was closed on Monday evening in both directions after a mudslide covered 50m of the tarmac, trapping one vehicle and damaging both lanes, Uri police said.
 
No one was injured but the road is currently closed indefinitely.
 
 
The road and railway to Zermatt remained inaccessible on Tuesday morning, as were roads to the ski villages of Zinal, St Luc, Saas-Fee, Leukerbad and Arolla, said the Touring Club Switzerland.
 
Further north, the road alongside Lake Brienz between Interlaken and Meiringen was closed, and in the east the roads between Brail and Zernez, and Lavin and Giarsun in the canton of Graubunden were blocked.
 
At Lommiswil in the canton of Solothurn a train derailed on Monday evening due to a landslide caused by heavy rain, police said. The line remains disrupted until further notice.
 
Solothurn police also received around 100 calls from members of the public, mostly concerning flooded buildings.
 
 
Many trains were disrupted in the cantons of Vaud and Valais, including the mountain train between Aigle and the ski resort of Leysin which was closed on Tuesday morning due to the risk of landslide, according to SBB. A bus replacement service is runnning.
 
Also affected in the canton of Vaud were the lines Villars-Bretaye, Le Sepey-Les Diablerets and Haut-de-Caux-Rochers-de-Naye and Les Avants-Montbovon.
 
The lines to Zermatt and Andermatt remained closed on Tuesday due to avalanche risk, as was the Gotthard panoramic route between Erstfeld and Biasca.
 
Rail disruption on Tuesday morning. Source: SBB
 
The precipitation ceased on Tuesday and the weather is forecast to be calmer in the coming days. 

WEATHER

Will Switzerland be visited by ‘Ice Saints’ this year?

Ascension is not the only annual happening in the country in May, as Switzerland also ‘celebrates’ another 'chilling' event this month.

Published: 8 May 2024 14:20 CEST
Will Switzerland be visited by 'Ice Saints' this year?

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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