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WEATHER

Summer’s last hurrah? Temperatures top 30C in Switzerland

The temperature topped 30C in the Swiss canton of Valais on Tuesday as Switzerland enjoyed what is probably a final dose of summer.

Published: 16 September 2019 19:09 CEST
Summer’s last hurrah? Temperatures top 30C in Switzerland
Switzerland had its third hottest summer on record in 2019. File photo: AFP

The maximum of 30.2C was recorded in Sion just after 4pm. This was just the fourth time Sion has seen temperatures above 30C in the second half of September, according to SRF Meteo.

Valais was not the only part of the country to see warm weather on Monday. Across north-western Switzerland, temperatures of 29C were registered.

Maximums of over 30C are rare in Switzerland in the second half of September, but not unheard of. However, the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino has gone one better: on October 24th last year, Locarno saw a temperature of 30.5C.

Conditions are expected to be cooler in eastern Switzerland on Tuesday, although maximums of 28C are still possible in the south and west of the country.

The second half of the week will be generally cooler although things are looking good for a warm and sunny weekend to come.

Switzerland had its third hottest summer on record in 2019 thanks in part to two heatwaves that hit the country in June and July.

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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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