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Is spring already springing up in Switzerland?

It may still be chilly in most Swiss regions, but warmer weather is coming our way.

Published: 14 February 2022 15:49 CET
Is spring already springing up in Switzerland?
Warmer weather is only days away, meteorologists say. Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

The spring doesn’t officially start for more than a month — on March 20th — but weather forecast calls for 18 degrees by Friday in several parts of the country.

While it will be cloudy on Tuesday and Wednesday, especially in northern Switzerland, and precipitation is expected along the Alps, the weather should shift on Thursday, with temperatures reaching 6 to 8 degrees across Switzerland.

Dryer air and sunshine are then expected on Friday, when temperatures will rise to 18 degrees, especially in north-western Switzerland, according to the Federal Office of Meteorology, MeteoSwiss.

In fact, based on its longer-term forecast, MeteoSwiss predicts, with a probability of 60 percent, that this year’s spring season, specifically the period between March and May, will be “above average” in terms of warmth.

Seasonal forecasts are established each month for the following three months for north-eastern, western, and southern Switzerland.

But don’t pack away your coats and wellies just yet.

That’s because the accuracy of long-term forecasts remains limited, as “they are inherently subject to great uncertainty, even though significant progress has been made in recent years, thanks to high-performance computers and model simulations”, according to MeteoSwiss.  

But while unseasonably warm weather might be enjoyable for us humans, it is not necessarily a good thing for the eco-system, as higher-than-normal temperatures disrupt the natural cycle of plants and animals.

EXPLAINED: Why warm winters are especially bad for 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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