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River swimmers advised of cold water risks

As Switzerland basks in the sun for a second day swimmers are being warned that many rivers and lakes have yet to heat up.

Published: 24 June 2016 11:11 CEST

River swimmers advised of cold water risks

Cooling off should be done with care. Photo: bad-info.ch

The country experienced its first tropical night of the year on Thursday, according to the French-language 20 minutes, with temperatures not falling below 20 degrees in the cantons of Vaud and Valais.

It quoted weather service Meteonews as saying the warmest place overnight (22.5 degrees) was Rünenberg in the cantonal of Basel-Land.

The mini heatwave that arrived on Thursday brought temperatures of up to 35 degrees, tempting many to head for a river or lake.

But, according to the paper, experts warned swimmers not to expect warm water temperatures as a result.

The water temperature in rivers is lower than at this time last year, which could result in swimmers experiencing potentially fatal muscle cramps, it quoted Reto Abächerli of the Swiss lifesavers’ society SLRG SSS as saying.

In addition, the heavy rain that preceded the heatwave means many rivers are swollen.

“In a river a high water level also means a stronger current,” said Abächerli.

“This means it takes longer to reach the shore.”

The water temperature in Swiss lakes is currently between 17 and 24 degrees, meteonews reported.

On Wednesday an asylum seeker drowned in a lake near Aesch in the canton of Lucerne, 20 minutes said, bringing the number of those who have drowned this year to 11.

The heatwave is likely to be of short duration. Meteonews forecasts a cold weather front for Friday evening, accompanied by storms.

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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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