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WEATHER

Swedish skier killed in avalanche in Swiss canton of Valais

A 20-year-old Swedish woman died after being struck by an avalanche in the Swiss canton of Valais on Tuesday.

Published: 15 January 2019 20:52 CET
Swedish skier killed in avalanche in Swiss canton of Valais
File photo: Valais Police

The woman was with a group of people who were skiing off piste in the Mont Gond sector of the Plan-du-Fou region when the avalanche struck, Valais cantonal police said in a statement.

The group was quickly able to locate the woman under the snow thanks to an avalanche transceiver but rescue workers were unable to save her life. 

Local authorities have opened an investigation, police said. 

Meanwhile, two other avalanches hit Valais on Tuesday. In one of those incidents, three hikers who had gone off trail were taken to hospital with minor injuries after being hit by an avalanche in the Verbier area. The other avalanche, on Mont Rogneux in the Lac des Vaux region, saw one person suffer minor injuries. 

After the avalanches, Valais police took to Twitter to warn people to take extra care given the current elevated risk. 

On Monday, a huge swathe of the central Swiss Alps was placed on maximum alert (level 5) for avalanches after heavy snow this month. 

This risk level dropped to level 4, or “high risk” for Tuesday, and this has been again lowered to level 3 (considerable risk) on Wednesday, according to the Swiss snow and avalanche research institute, the SLF. 

The SLF avalanche bulletin for Wednesday January 15th. See the full bulletin here.

But the SLF notes people must continue to exercise caution. Level 3 conditions are the most dangerous for back-country recreationists and are responsible for 50 percent of all avalanche fatalities.

People without experience are advised to stay on open ski runs and trails. There is more information (in English) on risk levels on the SLF website.

Friendly weather conditions are expected across Switzerland on Wednesday after heavy snowfall in recent times in many parts of the Swiss Alps. 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Snow clearing in #chur #switzerland #snow #graubuenden

A post shared by The Local Switzerland (@thelocalswitzerland) on Jan 15, 2019 at 1:38am PST

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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