Danger from snow – snow causes problems on the A2 motorway and in Valais – news

  • In the Alps, up to half a meter of fresh snow fell within 24 hours.
  • Snowfall has caused traffic problems in Valais and central Switzerland.
  • The railway line between Täsch and Zermatt in Valais had to be temporarily closed due to an avalanche.
  • Many roads up high were snow-covered, and there were problems in the direction of the Gotthard. Traffic there was backed up by up to 7 kilometers due to congestion in the afternoon.

Winter is sweeping across Switzerland again this weekend. A lot of fresh snow fell, especially in Valais: According to SRF Meteo, it was half a meter in 24 hours until the morning.

The federal natural hazards department had already warned of the significant danger of snow during the night.

In parts of Valais, the danger from avalanches is considered to be high. That is why the specialist department there has declared danger level four.

The railway line between Täsch and Zermatt had to be closed due to an avalanche. Only in the afternoon did the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) give the all-clear via Twitter.

According to a spokeswoman for the MGB, the avalanche fell overnight and buried the tracks. The start of the clearing work was delayed because additional snow masses had to be blasted for safety reasons. When asked, the Valais canton police pointed out that the road to Zermatt was also temporarily closed. The reason was preventive avalanche blasting.

Problems on the north-south axis

The sometimes heavy snowfall also caused obstructions elsewhere on the roads, for example on the north-south axis, like the TCS on its homepage wrote. Between Erstfeld and Amsteg, traffic was backed up – first because of the snowfall, then because of traffic congestion – up to 7 kilometers at times, the loss of time was up to an hour. The traffic was temporarily dosed because of the snow-covered road from Amsteg.

At the same time, there has been a risk of forest fires in Graubünden and parts of Ticino since Friday. Therefore, in the affected regions, the barbecue may only be kindled in existing fireplaces.

Again and again rain or snow in the Alps

In the Alps there is always rain or snow. Most precipitation occurs in the western and central Alps, especially in the Lower Valais. The snow line is initially between 600 meters in the east and 1200 meters in the west and rises again in the evening from the west. The maximum temperatures are between 4 and 8 degrees, at 2000 m -3 degrees. A strong westerly wind is blowing on the mountains.

In the Lake Constance region to Lake Geneva, Jura and in the Basel region It is mostly cloudy and rain or snow fell in many places, especially in the morning. The snowfall line was between around 400 meters in the east and 1000 meters in the west in the morning and rose again in the afternoon.

In the south it looks different: In Ticino it is partly sunny with maximum values ​​of up to 18 degrees.

Once the cold weekend with snowfall in the Alps is over, temperatures will rise sharply at the beginning of the next week. On Monday, 18 degrees Celsius can already be expected on the north side of the Alps.

Snow covered road, car blurred in the background

Legend:

The sometimes heavy snowfall causes obstructions on the roads.

Symbolic picture/KEYSTONE/DPA/Sebastian Gollnow

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