First half of February with temperatures as usual in April
Published: Wednesday, Feb 14th 2024, 17:40
Updated At: Wednesday, Feb 14th 2024, 17:40
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The first half of February was unusually warm in Switzerland. According to MeteoSwiss, the temperature in the period from February 1 to 13 was four to six degrees above the 1991 to 2000 norm. Despite this, there is still above-average snow at higher altitudes in some places.
The Swiss Plateau experienced February days with temperatures that corresponded to the norm for the first half of April, wrote Stefan Bader from the Climate Department of MeteoSwiss, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, on Tuesday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. On individual days, the average daily temperature was locally 10 to 12 degrees above the norm.
According to the currently available forecasts, a massive cold spell is not expected, Bader continued. This is despite the fact that the meteorological winter will last until the end of February.
According to MeteoSwiss's monthly report, January was already one of the warmest on record. The national average January temperature was around 1.8 degrees above the norm for the years 1991 to 2020.
The comparatively high temperatures had an impact on the vegetation. With the mild weather from January 24th, many hazel bushes blossomed, Bader reported. Depending on the measuring station, the flowering dates were one to six weeks earlier than the average date for the period from 1991 to 2000.
Despite the warmth, the snow has not melted away, especially at higher altitudes. According to MeteoSwiss, there are 2 meters of snow on the Weissfluhjoch at 2540 meters above sea level - the long-term average at this time of year is around 1.6 meters. The Säntis at 2226 meters reports just under 5 meters with a long-term average of just over 3 meters.
In Sils-Maria in the Upper Engadine (at 1801 meters above sea level) there is currently around 60 centimetres of snow, which is just below the long-term average. Andermatt at 1440 meters above sea level has just over 50 centimetres of snow. The long-term average at this time of year here is around one meter.
©Keystone/SDA
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