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WEATHER

IN PICS: Ten beautiful images of Switzerland in spring

Cherry blossoms, blue skies and flowers everywhere: here are some of best pictures of the recent glorious weather in Switzerland.

Published: 2 April 2019 22:37 CEST
Updated: 4 April 2022 15:32 CEST
Bertastrasse in Zurich in full bloom. Photo by Evan Bollag on Unsplash
Bertastrasse in Zurich in full bloom. Photo by Evan Bollag on Unsplash

Spring has well and truly sprung in Switzerland as the pictures below make clear.

Follow us on Instagram @TheLocalSwitzerland and tag us if you want us to share your own images of this beautiful country.

A flowering magnolia tree in Basel

Bern at twilight

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

About last night… ? #ilovebern #inlovewithswitzerland #cherryblossoms ? @this.is.leonard (Leonard Hofer)

A post shared by Bern Welcome (@ilove_bern) on Apr 1, 2019 at 11:27pm PDT

Cherry blossoms in the city of Sion

Fruit trees in the Thurgau/Lake Constance region

Chur: the capital of the canton of Graubünden

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Winter in the mountains, spring in the valleys ?? ? by @remodemont_photography

A post shared by Graubünden (@graubuenden) on Mar 30, 2019 at 11:44pm PDT

A beautiful spring morning in Zurich

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What a beautiful morning today ??

A post shared by Larisa ??‍♀️Zurich/Switzerland (@justmovedtoswitzerland) on Mar 30, 2019 at 11:16am PDT

Lake Geneva

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Another wonderful evening between rocks and water, this time in St Saphorin. . Canon EOS 5D Mk III | Canon EF 17 – 40mm f/4.0L | Haida NanoPro MC ND 1.8 . #myswitzerland #switzerlandpictures #visitswitzerland #switzerlandwonderland #naturelover #earthpic #discoverswitzerland #blickheimat #discoverlandscape  #earthlove #inlovewitzswitzerland #suissebook #folkscenery #switzerland_bestpix  #loves_united_switzerland  #verliebtindieschweiz #natureaddict #earthvisuals #canonswitzerland #photolightmag #ethereal_moods #gottalove_a_ #mthrworld #lacleman  #beyondthelands_ #longexpoelite #landscape_nightscape #longexpo_addiction #lakegeneva #haidafilter

A post shared by Michel Visentin (@michel.visentin) on Mar 25, 2019 at 12:51pm PDT

A stunning aerial shot in the canton of Valais

More cherry trees: this time in Lausanne

Canton Jura in Switzerland’s west

See also: Ten spectacular spring getaways in Switzerland

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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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