Temperatures are set to hit as much as 20 degrees this weekend in parts of the country for the first time this year, bringing an end to what has been a cooler than usual start to the shoulder season.

With snow sitting heavy in the mountains above 1,000 metres, the mercury is expected to start heading upwards on Thursday.

Since March 20th, the jet stream, bringing warm air from the west, has flowed well south of Switzerland, exposing the mountain country to cool air from eastern Europe, aided by the bise, a cold wind from the northeast, MeteoSwiss, the national weather office said.

“This week finally, the western current will finally return to a more normal route,” the weather office said in a statement.

Mild, moist air is set to blow across the country on Thursday, while a high pressure system with clear skies is expected to move into place on Sunday bringing high temperatures ranging from 17 to 20 degrees, MeteoSwiss said. 

In the southeren Alps, it should rise to between 18 and 20 degrees on Saturday, according to forecasts.

There is still a risk of snow at higher elevations in the Alps in the next few days.

But the limit for precipitation falling as snow is set to rise to 3,000 metres from the current 1,000 to 2,000 metres by the weekend, meteorologist Christine Jutz from public broadcaster SRF told the ATS news agency.

Milder, spring-like weather is expected to continue across Switzerland through next week.