After yesterday's warm front, temperatures have risen significantly in the past few hours. The new week will therefore start relatively mild, but will continue to be very cloudy. On Tuesday in particular, a disturbance lying across northern Switzerland will cause large amounts of precipitation. In combination with a high snow line, the runoff levels will rise significantly! From Wednesday onwards, the weather will gradually calm down without becoming stable in the long term.
Three wet days – a short precipitation record
Large amounts of precipitation have fallen since Sunday, with totals in the three-digit range at a number of stations. On Sunday itself, it was still snowing in some areas down to low altitudes at first, but then the snow line rose significantly – to over 2500 meters in some places. The combination of rain and meltwater caused stream and river levels to rise, resulting in regional flooding. A few more showers will pass through today and the water levels will gradually fall again. In the evening and next night, an intermediate high will affect the weather for a few hours.
Fig. 1: Precipitation amounts in the last 72 hours up to Wednesday morning; Source: MeteoNews, Ubimet
Amount of precipitation (as of 08:00)
Large amounts of precipitation in some areas
Large amounts of precipitation have fallen so far this evening. So far, the most has been measured on La Dôle with exactly 100 mm. But the amounts in the foothills of the Alps and mountain regions are also widely between 50 and 70 mm.
Amount of precipitation (as of 16:40)
It will continue to be wet in the coming hours, with the snow line dropping to around 1400 to 1600 meters by Wednesday morning, but at the same time the intensity of the precipitation will gradually decrease. Nevertheless, a further 15 to 30 mm is to be expected, especially along the foothills of the Alps, and locally even more.
Strong winds in the coming night
Also worth mentioning is the strong, freshening south-westerly wind this night. On the Central Plateau, there will be widespread gusts of 50 to 70 km/h, with gale-force gusts in some places. It will also be stormy on the mountains. A forecast of the wind maxima can be seen on the map below.
Fig. 1: Wind peaks in the coming night; Source: MeteoNews/Ubimet
A final assessment of this precipitation event will follow tomorrow in the same place.
Stormy night
On the southern edge of low pressure system Jasper with its center over Denmark, Switzerland is currently caught in a very strong westerly high-altitude current, the jet stream (strong wind band in the upper layers of the troposphere) is directly over us. The strongest gust of wind was measured last night on the Jungfraujoch at 177 km/h, followed by the Säntis at 137 km/h. On the mountains, there were gale-force gusts in places. In the lowlands, the maximum wind speeds mostly remained below 90 km/h. On the Zürichberg, 89 km/h were measured, in Würenlingen 87 km/h.
The following hit lists show the 20 measuring stations with the maximum wind gusts for altitudes below 600 meters and above 600 meters since yesterday evening.
Strongest wind gusts (<600m, as of 06:00)
| Lowland stations | Strongest wind gusts (in km/h) |
|---|---|
| Zurich-Zurichberg (556 a.s.l., ZH) | 89 |
| Würenlingen (334 a.s.l., AG) | 87 |
| St. Chrischona (493 a.s.l., BS) | 87 |
| Steckborn (398 a.s.l., TG) | 87 |
| Gösgen (380 a.s.l., SO) | 86 |
| Niedergösgen (420 a.s.l., SO) | 82 |
| Lostorf (451 a.s.l., SO) | 78 |
| Schaffhausen (438 a.s.l., SH) | 76 |
| Grenchen (430 a.s.l., SO) | 76 |
| Zurich Airport (436 a.s.l., ZH) | 76 |
| Fahy (596 a.s.l., JU) | 74 |
| Neuchâtel (485 a.s.l., NE) | 72 |
| Cressier (432 a.s.l., NE) | 72 |
| Delémont (439 a.s.l., JU) | 70 |
| Basel-Binningen (316 a.s.l., BL) | 67 |
| Roggwil (410 a.s.l., TG) | 67 |
| Altenrhein (398 a.s.l., SG) | 67 |
| Giswil (475 a.s.l., OW) | 67 |
| Känerkinden (575 a.s.l., BL) | 62 |
| Beznau (325 a.s.l., AG) | 60 |
Strongest wind gusts (>600m, as of 06:00)
| Mountain stations | Strongest wind gusts (in km/h) |
|---|---|
| Jungfraujoch (3580 a.s.l., BE) | 177 |
| Säntis (2502 a.s.l., AR) | 137 |
| Wildspitz (1580 a.s.l., SZ) | 124 |
| Maschgenkamm/Flumserberge (2020 a.s.l., SG) | 121 |
| Crap Masegn (2480 a.s.l., GR) | 116 |
| Chasseral (1599 a.s.l., BE) | 115 |
| Plaffeien (1042 a.s.l., FR) | 113 |
| Bantiger (942 a.s.l., BE) | 113 |
| Moléson (1972 a.s.l., FR) | 110 |
| Glacier des Diablerets (2966 a.s.l., VD) | 109 |
| Pilatus (2106 a.s.l., LU) | 109 |
| Titlis (3040 a.s.l., OW) | 106 |
| Lägern (868 a.s.l., ZH) | 102 |
| Brülisau-Leugangen (1045 a.s.l., AI) | 100 |
| Uetliberg (869 a.s.l., ZH) | 99 |
| Corvatsch (3315 a.s.l., GR) | 91 |
| Welschenrohr (679 a.s.l., SO) | 90 |
| La Dôle (1670 a.s.l., VD) | 90 |
| Napf (1406 a.s.l., BE) | 89 |
| Gornergrat (3135 a.s.l., VS) | 87 |
Moderate to strong south-westerly to westerly winds will continue to blow through the Central Plateau until Wednesday morning, with isolated squalls. Gale-force gusts must still be expected on the mountains.
There will also be a lot of rain on the northern side of the Alps today (see blog below).
Cloudy but mild start to the week
After some flakes fell yesterday (Sunday) down to lower altitudes, a warm front has crossed us in the past few hours. Since yesterday, 15 to 30 mm have fallen across the Central Plateau, in some cases significantly more, as the following hit list with the accumulated precipitation totals up to this morning shows. The leader is once again the Säntis – This is not surprising. Over 2800 mm have already fallen here in the current year, with Clusanfe in second place in this category with just under 2000 mm.
Amount of precipitation (as of 09:20)
| Measuring stations | Precipitation (in mm) |
|---|---|
| Säntis (2502 a.s.l., AR) | 78 |
| Riedholz (518 a.s.l., SO) | 62 |
| Salvan (990 a.s.l., VS) | 56 |
| La Dôle (1670 a.s.l., VD) | 53 |
| Magglingen (883 a.s.l., BE) | 53 |
| Braunwald (1299 a.s.l., GL) | 52 |
| Nesselboden (1055 a.s.l., SO) | 44 |
| La Frétaz (1202 a.s.l., VD) | 43 |
| Longirod (900 a.s.l., VD) | 42 |
| Ebnat-Kappel (620 a.s.l., SG) | 42 |
| Elm (958 a.s.l., GL) | 41 |
| Starkenbach SG (897 a.s.l., SG) | 40 |
| Beznau (325 a.s.l., AG) | 39 |
| Cressier (432 a.s.l., NE) | 38 |
| Chaumont (1130 a.s.l., NE) | 38 |
| Leibstadt (341 a.s.l., AG) | 38 |
| La Chaux-de-Fonds (1019 a.s.l., NE) | 37 |
| Neuchâtel (485 a.s.l., NE) | 36 |
| Würenlingen (334 a.s.l., AG) | 35 |
| Gsteig (1196 a.s.l., BE) | 35 |
The temperature level and thus the snow line have risen significantly and will continue to rise until the evening. While the snow line was between 2200 and 2400 meters this morning, it should be around 2800 meters in the evening. A look at the precipitation radar shows that most of the precipitation has now shifted to the foothills of the Alps and the Alps, while the Central Plateau is often dry. During the course of the day it will be mostly cloudy, but only occasionally wet in the lowlands. Towards the evening, however, new rain will spread. Temperatures will reach highs of 14 to 17 degrees today. Also worth mentioning is the brisk south-westerly wind with gusts of 50 to 70 km/h, gale-force gusts are also possible (>75 km/h), especially at higher altitudes. It is stormy on the mountains, with isolated gale-force gusts (>118 km/h). The following figure shows the course of the wind from today to Friday, with the green line indicating the mean wind and the blue line the wind peaks.
Strongest gusts of wind (as of 09:20)
| Measuring stations | Strongest wind gusts (in km/h) |
|---|---|
| Säntis (2502 a.s.l., AR) | 139 |
| Jungfraujoch (3580 a.s.l., BE) | 131 |
| Titlis (3040 a.s.l., OW) | 129 |
| Crap Masegn (2480 a.s.l., GR) | 121 |
| Moléson (1972 a.s.l., FR) | 118 |
| La Dôle (1670 a.s.l., VD) | 117 |
| Pilatus (2106 a.s.l., LU) | 114 |
| Glacier des Diablerets (2966 a.s.l., VD) | 109 |
| Corvatsch (3315 a.s.l., GR) | 108 |
| Napf (1406 a.s.l., BE) | 105 |
| Bantiger (942 a.s.l., BE) | 103 |
| Chasseral (1599 a.s.l., BE) | 101 |
| Uetliberg (869 a.s.l., ZH) | 93 |
| Hörnli (1132 a.s.l., ZH) | 87 |
| Plaffeien (1042 a.s.l., FR) | 87 |
| Salen-Reutenen, Homburg TG (718 a.s.l., TG) | 85 |
| Simplon Dorf (1465 a.s.l., VS) | 83 |
| Gornergrat (3135 a.s.l., VS) | 82 |
| Zurich-Zurichberg (556 a.s.l., ZH) | 81 |
| St. Chrischona (493 a.s.l., BS) | 79 |
Fig. 1: Wind pattern over the next few days. From top to bottom: Bern, Zurich, Pilatus; Source: MeteoNews/Ubimet
Heavy rain on Tuesday
After the warm front is before the cold front – and this will determine our weather tomorrow. The disturbance zone will be practically stationary across Switzerland. With lots of clouds throughout the day, it will be frequently and sometimes heavily wet, with the main precipitation falling along the foothills of the Alps due to a slight accumulation effect. Between 50 and 70 mm will fall here, but significantly more is possible depending on the model. The snow line will be between 2600 and 2800 meters in the morning and fall to just over 2000 meters by the evening. The large amounts of precipitation in combination with the high snow line and the resulting accelerated melting process at medium altitudes will cause runoff to increase significantly(see weather warnings). Temperatures will remain in the mild range at 13 to 14 degrees throughout the day. The south-westerly wind will continue to blow tomorrow with wind speeds of 40 to 60 km/h, and it will remain stormy on the mountains.
Fig. 2: Forecast precipitation totals from Monday evening to Wednesday morning; Source: MeteoNews/Ubimet
Intermediate high in the middle of the week
In the night to Wednesday, the precipitation will gradually decrease as the snow line continues to fall. The day will still often start wet, especially along the mountains, with flakes from an altitude of around 1500 meters. On the Central Plateau, an increasingly friendly mix of sun and clouds will set in during the day, whereby it will be mostly dry after isolated showers in the morning. With moderate to partly strong south-westerly to westerly winds, the thermometer will show around 10 to 12 degrees. In the following night, clouds from the west are likely to increase temporarily – but these will mainly be harmless medium-high and high clouds from a warm front. From today's perspective, Thursday should also be mostly dry despite often cloudy skies, although there is some uncertainty between the various models. However, there certainly won't be much precipitation. The strong south-westerly to westerly winds that prevailed until the evening before will no longer be an issue on Thursday. Temperatures will probably only just reach double figures.
Cold front on Friday
The associated cold front will follow on Friday. It will bring widespread rain or snow. The snow line should generally be between 800 and 1000 meters, but depending on the model, the valley and the intensity of the precipitation, flakes are also conceivable at lower altitudes – but hardly as low as yesterday Sunday. High-temperatures will be around 7 degrees and the wind is also likely to pick up quite strongly for a short time as the front moves through. However, it is still far too early for details.
Sunny and dry in the south
The southern side of the Alps will be spared most of these frontal passages and the cloudy weather. It will be fairly to mostly sunny here all week, with a northerly foehn on Wednesday and Friday, especially in the Alpine valleys. Temperatures will reach 13 to 14 degrees, with a foehn wind 17 degrees is possible.
Fig. 3: We'll be seeing this picture a lot more this week, Ascona this morning; Source: Roundshot
Uncertain development
Reliable forecasts from Saturday onwards are difficult to impossible. What we can say is that we are still in an unsettled westerly flow and that there will be intermittent alternations of moist and dry air masses. If today's weather models prove correct, Saturday should remain mostly dry, with a slightly higher tendency for precipitation on Sunday and Monday. However, temperatures will return to the double-digit range and the moderate to strong south-westerly to westerly winds are also likely to remain. Below is a graphic overview of this week.
Fig. 4: Outlook until next Monday; Source: MeteoNews
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The content of this article has been at least partially computer translated from another language. Therefore, grammatical errors or inaccuracies are possible. Please note that the original language version of the article should be considered authoritative.
