“Dynamic autumn weather” brings onset of winter in Bergen
Published: Tuesday, Oct 31st 2023, 14:50
Updated At: Wednesday, Nov 1st 2023, 00:55
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"Dynamic autumn weather" has brought a winter onset to the mountains by Tuesday morning. The passing cold front brought a lot of precipitation in the past 24 hours, as recorded by the weather service Meteonews.
The heaviest rainfall was recorded in Mosogno TI in the Onsernone Valley. There, the rain cracked the mark of 100 liters per square meter in the morning. Also in parts of southern Grisons it rained heavily with 80 to just under 100 liters. In Soglio GR, for example, 96 liters accumulated. The cold front joined a situation of congestion in the south. Widespread wind and rain prevailed.
Snow fell only in the eastern Alps. On Piz Corvatsch GR at 2690 meters above sea level, the station of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) measured 40 centimeters of fresh snow.
According to the SLF stations, there were 29 centimeters of fresh snow on the Weissfluhjoch (2540 m a.s.l.), 22 centimeters in the highest Swiss village of Juf GR and 18 centimeters in Buffalora GR on the Ofenpass. On the Säntis (2501 m above sea level) there were 12 centimeters.
At the onset of precipitation, the snow line was at around 2500 meters, somewhat higher in the south. In the course of the night it dropped significantly, so that flakes fell down to 1200 meters above sea level.
Snow amounts not unusual
The amounts of snow that fell are not unusual for the end of October, Meteoschweiz, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, said in response to a request from the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The last time there was significantly more fresh snow on an October day was on the Weissfluhjoch with 55 centimeters in 2020, 2018 with 51 and 2014 with 52 centimeters. On the Weissfluhjoch, the amount of snow in October is expected to be at or above the current level about once every three years.
The snow in the mountains is not the first this autumn. From 22 to 23 September on the Weissfluhjoch already fell 9 centimeters of fresh snow. And in October, including the current one, there have already been five snowfalls there.
The Alpine passes were partially closed on Tuesday. Closed were the Flüela, Grimsel and Umbrailpass, as the Touring Club Switzerland on its website. Winter closure have the pass over the Great St. Bernard, the Furka, Nufenen and Sustenpass.
Open with restrictions are the Albula, Gotthard, Klausen and Wolfgang passes. Gotthard and Klausen have night closure from 6 to 8 pm. The Bernina Pass is closed due to a rockfall.
©Keystone/SDA
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