Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Good news! Swiss summer isn’t over yet

Don't put away the suncream just yet. The summer temperatures that Switzerland has enjoyed over recent days are set to continue until the middle of next week, forecasters say.

Published: 9 September 2016 17:25 CEST
Good news! Swiss summer isn't over yet
The blue skies are here to stay for a bit longer. Photo: rekre89/Flickr

Summer got off to a less than promising start in Switzerland, with snowfall in July.

But after a late August heatwave brought record high temperatures to some cantons, the warm weather is showing no sign of leaving any time soon.

On Thursday, the mercury hit over 30C in Geneva.

“It's extraordinarily hot for this time of year,” meteorologist Roger Perret told 20 minutes. “It will be between 25C and 30C until at least Wednesday.”

Perret also predicted clear skies across the country, apart from in the mountains where clouds and rain showers are likely.

If the high temperatures continue, 2016 could be Switzerland's hottest ever year.

However, one problem with the unseasonal heat is that the dry weather has seen several areas in the south, particularly the south-east of the country put on high alert for fires.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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. 

SHOW COMMENTS