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STORM

WATCH: Video shows wild storm on Lake Geneva

A video has emerged of the wild storm that claimed the life of a tourist on Lake Geneva on Saturday.

WATCH: Video shows wild storm on Lake Geneva
The storm brought wind gusts of up to 60 knots to Lake Geneva. Image: Bol d’Or Mirabaud

The video shows the conditions on the lake during the storm that slammed western Switzerland at around 5pm on Saturday afternoon bringing rain, hail and strong winds.

In the footage posted on Facebook, a yacht participating in the huge Bol d’Or Mirabaud regatta appears to capsize as it is buffeted by strong wind gusts that reached up to 50 knots an hour.

The storm caused an estimated 40 broken masts while a number of boats sank and several crew members went overboard, according to organisers. 

But a spokesperson for the event told The Local that sailors had displayed excellent seamanship. He said safety plans had worked perfectly and there had been no serious accidents.

However, in a separate incident which was unrelated to the yachting regatta, the stormy conditions on Lake Geneva claimed the life of a tourist who died when her sightseeing boat sank off Vésenaz.

Another man on the vessel was able to swim to another boat and set off flares, Geneva police said.

Three police boats and emergency services rushed to the scene. Police divers later retrieved the woman's body from the lake. 

The woman was taken to hospital in Geneva by Switzerland’s Rega air rescue services where she was declared dead, according to the AFP news agency.

The wild weather also caused problems across Geneva with emergency services called out over 500 times.

The clean-up continued on Sunday morning with hundreds of people taking part.

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WEATHER

Temperatures to rise to 30C in Switzerland this week

Much warmer weather is expected in Switzerland this week, just in time for the first official start of summer on June 20th.

Temperatures to rise to 30C in Switzerland this week

If you are tired of the heavy (and sometimes even torrential) rains of the past two weeks, then brighter news is on the horizon.

After warming up on Monday to low 20s, temperatures will soar on Tuesday, reaching up to 30C in many parts of Switzerland.

The zero-degree line will climb to the altitude of 4,000 meters.

The sunny and warm weather will continue for the rest of the week, even despite occasional clouds.

It is likely that Saharan dust will cover Switzerland with yellow hues, as it did in March

On  Thursday, the temps will drop somewhat, but it will be still be seasonably warm —  around 25C.

This is what you can expect this week in your region.

What is the forecast for the coming months?

If you are staying in Switzerland during the summer vacation, you want to be sure the weather will remain, well, summery.

However, tt is too early to know with any certainty.

The general hope, however, is that it will be pleasantly warm and sunny, but that Switzerland will be able to avoid extreme heatwaves of the past two years.
 

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