Les météorologues enregistrent un mois d'avril de baisse des températures en Suisse
Published: Tuesday, Apr 30th 2024, 17:40
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April has lived up to its reputation this year: in the first half of the month, Switzerland experienced early summer conditions with numerous temperature records. In the second half of the month, it snowed again down to low altitudes on the northern side of the Alps.
During the warm period from April 5 to 8, several measuring locations on both sides of the Alps recorded summer days with daily highs of 25 degrees or more, as reported by the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) on Tuesday. The daily maximum of almost 29 degrees was measured in Basel-Binningen BL.
From April 12 to 14, an area of high pressure with mild air of subtropical origin caused the second warm period. During this period, average daily temperatures were six degrees or more above the 1991-2020 norm in many places and up to twelve degrees in mountainous areas.
April records were set in the Jura and Geneva as well as in Davos GR and Engelberg OW. The city of La Chaux-de-Fonds NE and Mount Säntis in eastern Switzerland even recorded the warmest three-day period in an April month since measurements began over 100 years ago.
Drastic drop in temperature
The first drop in temperature occurred between the two warm periods - from April 8 to 10: in Bern, the daily maximum temperature fell from 24 to around 11 degrees within two days. According to MeteoSwiss, the norm here at this time of year is around 14 degrees.
During the second drop in temperature from April 14 to 16, the daily maximum temperature in Bern fell from 26 to 11 degrees within two days. The cold, damp polar air responsible for the second drop in temperature ushered in a longer period of precipitation, which also brought fresh snow.
This led to above-average snow depths in many places at an altitude of around 1000 meters. In Elm GL and Einsiedeln SZ, these were between 10 and 30 centimetres between 22 and 25 April. According to MeteoSwiss, there is typically hardly any snow at these locations at this time. On the Urnerboden UR at an altitude of almost 1400 meters, the greatest snow depth of the winter was measured on 23 April at 68 centimetres.
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