Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Heatwave: Switzerland swelters as temperatures reach 34C

Parts of Switzerland saw sweltering hot temperatures at the weekend, with highs of 34C. Extremely hot weather will continue this week - along with thunderstorms. 

Published: 14 August 2023 12:23 CEST
Updated: 14 August 2023 14:18 CEST
Summer in Lake Geneva area
Summer weather (here in Lake Geneva area) is back. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

It’s been a mixed few weeks in Switzerland, with plenty of rain and a drop in temperatures on the north side of the Alps. 

Last Sunday Zurich saw highs of just 15C, giving a much more autumnal feel to the start of August. 

Since then, however, summer weather has returned with full force.

And this weekend was a heatwave. In Geneva and Valais, temperatures reached a sticky 34C on Sunday, reported SRF Meteo. In Ilanz, the mercury topped 33C.

Later in the evening, thunderstorms emerged amid the humid air. In Laufen alone, 27 millimeters of rain fell in just one hour. More thunderstorms arrived overnight, particularly south of the Alps. 

In the coming week Switzerland will continue to see severely hot days with storms.

According to Meteonews, Geneva and Lausanne will see highs of 34C on Monday, while it will reach 31C in Zurich, while rainfall and thunderstorms are predicted around the country. 

READ ALSO: Eight swimming spots to escape the Swiss summer heat

On Tuesday, it’s a similar picture with temperatures topping 30C and a risk of more thunderstorms. 

Later in the week it is forecast to get even hotter. Highs of 35C are expected in Geneva and Lausanne – and it could even top 36C in these areas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, it may even get to 37C in this part of the country, the current forecast shows. 

The renewed blast of heat is coming from humid air from the Iberian Peninsula, according to forecasters. 

Spain is currently suffering from another heatwave, with temperatures hovering around 40C. On Thursday, 46.8C was even reported in Valencia on the Mediterranean coast. 

READ MORE: Why getting permission for air conditioners is so hard in Switzerland

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