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Swiss heatwave follows rain and wind storms

After a cool spring, torrential rains, flooding and wind storms, Switzerland is now sweating it out through a heatwave.

Published: 17 June 2013 21:47 CEST

Swiss heatwave follows rain and wind storms

Photo: Lykaestria

The mercury rose to 36 degrees on Monday afternoon in Saint Maurice in the canton of Valais, setting the record high for the country, according to Meteomedia.

But temperatures rose above 30 degrees in plenty of other locations in Valais and German-speaking Switzerland, the weather news service reported.

Thermometers soared to 34.5 degrees in Sion, the capital of Valais, and up to 34.4 degrees in Delémont, the capital of the canton of Jura.

Basel recorded a high of 34 degrees, Zurich 33, Berne and Lucerne 32 and Geneva 30, according to MeteoSwiss, the national weather office.

The weather is expected to be a degree or two hotter on Tuesday as warm air from North Africa continues to funnel up to the Alpine country.

Eastern France is also expected to experience extreme heat with highs of 37 degrees or more in Alsace.

If it’s any consolation for those without air conditioning, the temperatures in Switzerland remain short of records for this time of year.

MeteoSwiss said highs around the country were between one and three degrees lower than those set in 2003, a year known for its torrid summer.

And the heatwave is expected to be short-lived, with highs falling back by 10 to 12 degrees by Thursday.

In the meantime, swimming pools and beaches around the country that were empty a couple of weeks ago have regained newfound popularity.

With rain forecast for next weekend, bathers have to jump at the opportunity.

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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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