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WEATHER

Storm winds expected again in parts of Switzerland

Weather forecasters expect gale-force winds in Western Switzerland for a second day on Tuesday after storm Ruzica swept across northern Europe.

Published: 8 February 2016 21:28 CET
Storm winds expected again in parts of Switzerland
Two people were injured after this sign blew over in Paris. Photo: Brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris

On Monday, high winds disrupted passenger boat traffic on Lake Geneva, while gusts of over 100 kilometres an hour were recorded in Delémont (in the canton of Jura) and the city of Neuchâtel, the ATS news agency said.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, issued warnings of storm winds on Tuesday extending along the Jura Mountains from the canton of Vaud to the canton of Thurgau, as well as in the Chablais region of Valais, the Vaud Alps and Fribourg,

Two boat trips linking Lausanne and Thonon-les-Bains, France on the south side of Lake Geneva were cancelled on Monday afternoon, operator CGN said.

The company said that further disruptions were to be expected on Tuesday.

High winds also forced closure of ski lifts at resorts in the Bernese Oberland.

No deaths were initially reported but a tree fell on a car in the Simmental region of the canton of Bern, injuring the driver, ATS said.

The winds were caused by a storm caused by a low-pressure system that originated in the Atlantic.

Gusts of up to 150 kilometres an hour lashed Great Britain and over 140 km/h in northwest France.

A woman was left in a coma and another person was injured after an advertising billboard blew over in gale-force winds in Paris.

Thousands were left without electricity in Brittany and Normandy as power lines toppled.

Parts of Switzerland have seen remarkably high temperatures for this time of year after a warm Foehn wind blew through central parts of the country at the weekend.

MeteoSwiss said temperatures rose to 14 degrees in Altdorf in the canton of Uri on Monday, where the mercury is forecast to reach 16 degrees on Tuesday.

Basel can expect a high of 15 degrees on Tuesday, with a top reading of 14 degrees anticipated in Chur in the canton of Graubünden, with rain across the country.

Weather experts predict conditions will turn more wintry by Wednesday with snow forecast through the Alps.
 

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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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