Especially in Basel – broken trees and flooded basements after a heavy thunderstorm – news

  • After the peak of the heat wave on Tuesday, several thunderstorms erupted over Switzerland on Wednesday.
  • They were accompanied by heavy rain, gusts of wind and sometimes hail with grains just about the size of tennis balls.
  • In Basel, a violent thunderstorm on Wednesday evening caused fallen trees and covered roofs.

After days of scorching hot and dry weather, it rained again in parts of Switzerland on Wednesday afternoon. But that was also accompanied by hail. There were reports of hail, especially from the Bernese Oberland.

It raged in many parts of Switzerland

Two very active sources of thunderstorms passed between Valais and Emmental and across the Jura in the late afternoon. Hail reports came from the Bernese Oberland. SRF Meteo showed large hailstones on Twitter.

A second strong thunderstorm cell moved northeast across the Jura. It also brought heavy rain, violent gusts and hail. In the Bernese Oberland and in Romandie, heavy thunderstorms fell on Wednesday night and on Wednesday morning.

Alertswiss, the alarm app of the Federal Office for Civil Protection (Babs), issued a level 4 thunderstorm warning (great danger) for the region around Brienz and Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland early on Wednesday evening. Warnings were given of high water and possible tidal waves.

Storm damage in Basel

In Basel, trees snapped during a strong storm early on Wednesday evening. Among other things, 73 fallen trees and 20 covered roofs were reported in the canton of Baselland. The broken trees and fallen branches have been cleared away since Thursday morning. The districts of Laufen and Arlesheim were particularly affected, where a violent thunderstorm resulted in strong gusts of wind, as the Baselbieter police announced on Thursday. In addition, the deer enclosure in the Schwarzpark was damaged and the St. Alban ferry had to be secured against a storm before an accident occurred. No injuries were reported.

Also damage reports in Solothurn and Aargau


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The Solothurn canton police received 40 damage reports on Wednesday evening after thunderstorms. 32 reports concerned water penetrating properties. Eight reports were about fallen trees or broken branches. The reports triggered numerous fire brigade bids. There were no reports of injured persons or unusual occurrences.

The Aargau canton police only received two damage reports after the thunderstorms, as the media office of this police corps announced on Thursday morning on request. It was about fallen trees.

Strong gusts of wind, large hailstones and lots of rain caused major devastation: the cantonal police in Basel-Stadt alone received around 300 calls within 90 minutes, resulting in 55 calls. The professional fire brigade of the Basel-Stadt rescue service had to be called out 92 times by 9:30 p.m. According to the media release on Thursday, 41 flooded basements and three fallen scaffoldings were also reported. The material damage caused by the thunderstorm could not yet be quantified, it is said.

“Cooling down” on Thursday

The thunderstorms brought some cooling with them on Wednesday afternoon. Meteorologists continue to expect high summer temperatures of between 28 and 30 degrees on Thursday. However, the heat should be felt as less oppressive. With a north-west current, the air dries up a bit and it is no longer so muggy and sticky.

On Wednesday, the temperatures again reached heat levels of over 30 degrees. In German-speaking Switzerland, the thermometer measured 30 to almost 34 degrees. It got the hottest with 36.7 degrees in Geneva. Chur mass 35 and Zurich airport 34.2 degrees. On the southern side of the Alps, it remained hot and humid at around 33 degrees. Wednesday night was a tropical night far and wide. In some places the temperatures did not drop below 23 degrees.

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