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Extraordinarily high temperatures were measured in north-western Switzerland during the course of the week. Today it got even warmer. On Saturday we expect record values, especially at altitude.
Extremely warm air masses are currently reaching us from the southwest. These lead to record high temperatures for this time of year. On Friday afternoon, the maximum values with south-westerly winds, especially in north-western Switzerland, were sometimes well over 25 degrees in summer. This is in record range for the second half of October.
In the lowlands it wasn’t enough for such high temperatures. The records for the second half of October are 1-2 degrees higher in many places. The reason for this is the weak wind. At this time of the year, the sun is too weak to quickly warm up the cold air sea that has formed during the night. In the Jura and Alpine valleys, a light wind is enough to blow away the cold night air.
Records on Saturday in altitude?
The warmest air mass reaches us on Saturday. The daily maximums at altitude depend mainly on how warm the air masses are over Switzerland. The wind is less important there. For example, new records for the second half of the month are possible for the Napf or Davos stations.
The air masses are extraordinarily warm for two reasons. On the one hand, the air in the equatorial region is very warm, on the other hand, the air is additionally warmed up by sinking below a strong high.
Not quite as warm in the Jura
Although the air masses are warmer on Saturday than on Friday, it will probably not be quite as warm in north-western Switzerland as the south-westerly wind is easing a little.
Legend:
Zullwil/SO
Northwestern Switzerland on Friday morning
Christian Bieri
Why 2nd half of October?
We do not compare the current temperatures with the whole of October, as it gets significantly cooler in the course of October. The long-term average is around 5 degrees warmer at the beginning of October than at the end of October.