Extreme weather – Heavy thunderstorms have swept across Switzerland – News

  • Heavy thunderstorms swept over Switzerland from Tuesday afternoon.
  • They have brought some heavy rain and in places hail and squalls across the country.
  • In Wädenswil in the canton of Zurich, for example, wind speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour were measured.

The thunderstorms had been announced by the federal government with the highest level of danger. In total, more than 50,000 lightning bolts occurred during the thunderstorm. Accompanied by heavy rain showers and strong winds, the storm swept across all parts of Switzerland.

Legend:

Trees in the city of Zurich were not spared from the storm either.

SRF/Can Külahcigil

The thunderstorm has led to delays at Zurich Airport. Because of the danger from the storm and lightning strikes, the ground staff had to seek shelter for around an hour. Aircraft could not be unloaded or refueled.

Lightning spectacle in the Swiss sky

The interruption of this work on the ground lasted about an hour, as Elena Stern told the Keystone-SDA news agency. So the planes could have loaded but not been dispatched. Some aircraft had to go around, others flew in holding patterns. There were no more starts. Two planes destined for Zurich were diverted to other airports.

There were also disruptions to rail operations on Tuesday evening. This was because there were objects on the road or there were power cuts in places.

Over 37 degrees in Chur

The thermometer had previously climbed above 35 degrees Celsius in many places. In Chur GR, 37.6 degrees were measured in the afternoon. It has been hotter at this station on a July day only twice since 1959. The record temperature in Chur was 38.1 degrees on July 28, 1983.

More than 37 degrees were also measured in Geneva-Cointrin, in Mathod VD and Payerne VD. The 36-degree mark was reached in Kloten ZH, in Sitten VS and in Bad Ragaz SG, and in Lucerne LU, in Aarau AG, in Biasca TI and in Neuenburg NE, temperatures rose to over 35 degrees. The 30-degree mark had already been exceeded in numerous places in Switzerland in the morning. For example in Chur, in Aigle VD and in Ebnat-Kappel SG.

Emergency fishing due to dry Emme

However, the current heat wave was not able to surpass the previous all-time record. On August 11, 2003 41.5 degrees were measured in Grono GR.

Storms in France and Germany


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Severe storms hit eastern France on Tuesday evening without serious emergencies. The ceiling of a supermarket collapsed in Dijon, 30 trees were uprooted in Vichy and residents from various places in the region shared photos of large hailstones falling with the storm gusts, the BFMTV broadcaster and the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported. People were initially not harmed. Storm gusts with a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour were recorded in Dijon and Mulhouse.

The French railways stopped traffic on some routes for safety reasons. A severe weather warning was issued for 26 departments, for five of which the warning level was red.

Nevertheless, the current heat wave also took its toll: when working on a roof in Altendorf SZ on Monday afternoon, a 28-year-old worker fell three meters, presumably due to a heat stroke, and was injured, according to the Schwyz canton police.

Dry river bed of the Emme near Aefligen near Kirchberg (07/11/23)

Legend:

Dry river bed of the Emme near Aefligen near Kirchberg (07/11/23)

KEYSTONE/Peter Schneider

The Bern fisheries inspectorate also had to carry out emergency fishing in around a dozen waters. Among other things, from the Emme, which was dry below Aefligen BE and up to Schalunen (Municipality of Fraubrunnen BE), as confirmed by the fisheries inspectorate on request. This measure was necessary because the streams and rivers had little or no water due to the drought. The fish were in danger of suffocating.

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