Foehn in the north, traffic jams in the south – hurricane gusts on the mountains, 17 degrees in the valleys – meteo

A low pressure area over Cornwall is causing strong foehn winds in the Alps. On Saturday, a gust of 138 kilometers per hour was measured on the Gütsch, and in the Föhn valleys it was sometimes more than 17 degrees. At the same time, heavy rain and snow fell in the south.

Since Friday we have been on the front side of a low with a core over southwest England. In the Alpine region, this led to accumulated precipitation in the south and foehn on the north side of the Alps. On Friday evening, foehn gusts of more than 100 kilometers per hour were measured locally in the mountains, while peak values ​​in the valleys were a good 80 kilometers per hour.

Foehn maximum late Saturday morning

After the foehn became a little weaker in the meantime, it reached its maximum on Saturday afternoon. Shortly before noon, a peak value of 138 kilometers per hour was measured on the Gütsch above Andermatt, and there were also 137 kilometers per hour on the Jungfraujoch. In the valleys, however, the foehn didn’t get very far. Only in Altdorf with 89 kilometers per hour and in Meiringen with 87 kilometers per hour as well as in Evionnaz in Valais with 84 kilometers per hour were significant gusts recorded. Otherwise the maximum values ​​were 40 to 70 kilometers per hour in the valleys.

17½ degrees in the Uri Reuss Valley

On Saturday the temperatures in the Föhn valleys only really rose around midday. A high of 17.5 degrees was recorded in Altdorf, and 17.4 degrees in Sevelen in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. More than 16 degrees were also measured in Evionnaz, Glarus and Bad Ragaz. St. Gallen also experienced a very warm February day with 15 degrees. In the midland the temperatures early on Saturday afternoon were mostly between 10 and 12 degrees.

Legend:

Hardly any more snow

In the Appenzellerland it is aperous all the way up, as the view from Kronberg shows.

Peter Eicher

Snow up to 800 meters

While on Friday the snowfall limit south of the Alps was still well above 1000 meters, on Saturday it fell well below that in places. In Gondo at 850 meters above sea level, at the southern foot of the Simplon, there was snow on Saturday morning, and in Leventina it was also white in places below 1000 meters. In contrast, the snowfall limit in the Engadine was almost 1,700 meters in places.

Cold front stops the foehn

On Sunday night, a cold front will cross the north side of the Alps from west to east. This is the end of the hairdryer. On Sunday it will be variable in the north with isolated showers. The snowfall limit is 800 meters in some parts of the Jura and around 1000 meters in the Alps. The persistent rainfall in the south will come to an end during Sunday. More than 80 millimeters of rainfall fell locally from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon, including in Val Bavona and Chiasso. On Sunday evening there will be a northern foehn in the south.