Second onset of winter covers large parts of Switzerland in sugar
Published: Monday, Jan 8th 2024, 12:30
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An influx of cold air from the east caused snow-covered or at least sugary fields in several areas of German-speaking Switzerland on Monday night. The most snow in the past 24 hours fell in Elm GL and Engelberg OW.
According to the weather service Meteonews, 30 and 25 centimetres of fresh snow respectively have fallen there since Sunday morning. There was also snow in Appenzell with 15 centimetres, Kandersteg BE with 10 centimetres and Delsberg JU with five centimetres.
According to SRF Meteo, Basel (2 centimetres within the last three days), Lucerne (2 cm) and Zurich-Fluntern (1 cm) recorded only a light layer of snow. According to Meteonews maps, there is still no snow in several areas of Switzerland, for example in the Lausanne region and around Neuchâtel.
On Monday morning, Lucerne police reported several accidents on partially snow-covered roads in the canton on Sunday and Monday. Three people were injured.
It snowed more heavily at the beginning of December
As meteorologist Michael Eichmann from Meteonews said on request, the onset of winter on Sunday evening/Monday morning was not comparable to the snowfall at the beginning of December. At that time, persistent snowfall caused traffic problems in many places in Switzerland.
In many places, falling trees interrupted rail and road traffic and numerous flights had to be canceled at Zurich-Kloten Airport due to 15 centimeters of fresh snow.
Minus ten degrees with wind chill effect
In many places in Switzerland, schoolchildren and employees went to school or work on Monday morning in sub-zero temperatures. Because the breeze was blowing, the so-called wind chill effect caused temperatures of around minus ten degrees in many places, as meteorologist Eichmann went on to say.
What is meant by the wind chill effect is that the cold wind makes people perceive low temperatures as even lower. If, for example, the Bise blows at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour on a Monday morning in Zurich, the perceived temperature is around minus ten degrees, says Eichmann.
As the temperatures in Switzerland will remain low in the coming days, the city of Geneva has activated its "big cold" plan. On Monday evening, it opened an additional emergency shelter with 80 places for those in need in a civil defense facility in the Champel district. This will last for at least three nights.
Good conditions on the Lauberhorn
According to meteorologist Eichmann, Tuesday is likely to be the coldest day of the week at lower altitudes in Switzerland - even taking into account the wind chill factor. At higher altitudes, however, it will be somewhat milder.
From midweek, Meteonews is forecasting perfect winter sports weather in the mountains and the best conditions for Saturday's training sessions and ski race on the Lauberhorn above Wengen BE.
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