Mo, 6. Nov. 2023
The low pressure system “Domingos” caused a stormy weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, peak wind speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour were measured at times. There was also heavy rainfall in the west of Switzerland.
Foehn gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour were measured on Saturday, and on Sunday there were even gale-force gusts with southwesterly winds. High values were also recorded on the Central Plateau. For example, the Ferris wheel at the Basel Autumn Fair had to be temporarily shut down on Sunday afternoon.
The measuring network of the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) showed wind gusts of up to 114.8 kilometers on the Bantiger near Bern shortly before midday on Sunday, for example. On the Üetliberg near Zurich, the wind was blowing at up to 105.5 km/h.
In Grangeneuve near Fribourg, the wind reached up to 93.6 km/h and in Egolzwil LU 83.9 km/h. There was a risk of flying objects and branches as well as falling trees in places. In the southern part of Switzerland, the gusts were much less severe.
The Zurich cantonal police had received around a dozen reports of damage due to fallen trees or broken branches by Sunday afternoon, according to a request from the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Significantly more incidents of damage were reported to the police in the canton of Bern. Around 55 reports were received from all over the canton over the weekend, with most of the reported cases coming from the Seeland and the Bern region, a police spokesperson said on request. Here, too, it was mainly fallen trees and building barriers that caused damage. The Bern cantonal police are not aware of any injuries.
The Fribourg cantonal police counted over 30 police, fire department and maintenance service operations due to the storm. In most cases, fallen trees, torn off advertising tarpaulins or fallen construction site signage made it necessary to intervene, according to the police. In addition, several boats were torn away from jetties.
Strongest gusts on the Moléson and the Jura heights
According to SRF Meteo, the strongest gust was recorded on Sunday morning on the Moléson in the canton of Fribourg at 144 kilometers per hour. On the heights of the Jura, the peak value was also 127 kilometers per hour early on Sunday morning. The storm weakened considerably on Sunday afternoon.
There was a stormy Föhn wind in the Alps on Saturday. The Föhn was strongest in Altdorf with 100 kilometers per hour, in Elm it was 96 and in Meiringen 85 kilometers per hour. However, the south-westerly storm on the Jura was stronger than the Föhn at this time. On La Dôle, above Geneva, but also in Delsberg, 112 kilometers per hour were measured, as SRF Meteo reported.
Snowfall in Valais
Large amounts of precipitation fell in the Valais and Bernese Alps from Friday evening to midday on Sunday. Above 1900 meters, 20 to 30 centimetres of fresh snow fell, locally 50 to 60 centimetres. There was 17 centimetres of fresh snow in Zermatt, 20 centimetres in Leukerbad and 36 centimetres on the Great St. Bernard.
According to the Snow and Avalanche Research Institute (SLF), there was a high avalanche danger in south-western Valais on Sunday, i.e. level 4 on the five-point scale. The avalanche danger was downgraded for Monday. As in large parts of the Alps, the level is now considerable.
According to SRF Meteo, the wind is likely to continue in the coming days. However, the wind strength should become significantly weaker.
©Keystone/SDA
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