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Bern residents warned to boil water after thunderstorms sweep Switzerland

Residents of the Swiss canton of Bern have been warned to boil water, after storms caused flooding across much of the region.

Published: 8 July 2022 09:43 CEST

Bern residents have been warned to boil their water. Photo by Sasikan Ulevik on Unsplash

Bern residents have been warned to boil their water. Photo by Sasikan Ulevik on Unsplash

The storms started on Sunday in the west of the country and moved eastward, dousing central Switzerland with water.

The canton of Bern was particularly hard hit, with images showing flooded houses and basements, along with damaged roads and paths.

Some of the floodwater made it into drinking water supplies, with authorities warning residents to boil the potentially contaminated supplies before drinking.

The EWK warned residents of Herzogenbuchsee, Aeschi (Steinhof), Hellsau, Höchstetten, Seeberg, Thörigen and Willadingen on Thursday to boil their water.

“Boiling guarantees the killing of pathogens,” the statement said.

“We recommend using mineral water for drinking and as baby food. Have you already consumed the polluted drinking water? Observe yourself, if you develop a high fever, diarrhoea and/or vomiting within 48 hours, consult a doctor.”

The EWK also warned that the water might smell and taste of chlorine in the coming days, but that this posed no damage to health.

“The drinking water is now being treated and a mains flushing is being carried out. As a result, the water may have a distinct odour or taste of chlorine over the next few days”

Even brushing teeth or washing dishes with the water still risks contamination. Showering, washing clothes and using the dishwasher does not risk contamination, according to the EWK.

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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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