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It snowed a lot in the mountains on Thursday night. According to the Snow and Avalanche Research Institute, there was more than 65 centimeters of fresh snow in the northeast of the Graubünden Alps. Meanwhile, the snow line has fallen and it snows in parts of Switzerland to the deepest elevations. Meteorologist Daniela Schmuki reveals where more than half a meter of fresh snow could fall in the next few hours.
Daniela schmuki
SRF Meteorology
SRF News: Will we soon be able to ski in the center of Zurich, as is the case in Madrid?
Daniela Schmuki: In the city of Zurich there are already a few inches of snow on the streets and in many places it will continue to snow almost continuously until Friday noon. Like the Spanish capital, which is experiencing the worst winter chaos in some 50 years, the Central Plateau probably won’t look like this. If you want to see masses of snow, I recommend that you go to the mountain.
Where has how much snow been so far?
The latest measurements are from this Thursday morning. The total depth of snow in St. Gallen was 18 centimeters, in Einsiedeln it was 22 centimeters and in Chur it was 40 centimeters. In Arosa there is already 1.35 meters of snow. The Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology announced that in the last 40 years there was only three times as much fresh snow in Arosa in 24 hours. And there will be much more in the coming days.
Where do you expect the most fresh snow?
On the northern slopes of the Alps, until Friday afternoon, 50 to 100 centimeters of fresh snow can still fall. In the central and eastern plateau, 15 to 30 centimeters can be expected in many places. On the central and eastern Swiss plateau and in the Basel region, 10 to 30 centimeters will join in many places.
However, this also increases the risk of avalanches …
Exactly, the danger of avalanches has increased to the second highest level in a large area of the Alpine region. This level of danger affects the northern slopes of the Alps without the foothills of the Alps, the Valais, the northernmost valley of Ticino and the northern and central Grisons. In the rest of the Swiss Alps and in the Jura there is considerable risk, this corresponds to level 3 out of 5.
The situation is tense because it will continue to snow and a stormy wind from the northwest is blowing in the mountains. It is a dangerous combination. The Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research expects many spontaneous avalanches in the coming days.
Will the snow stay there for the next few days?
We assume yes. Wherever it snows, temperatures are close to freezing. An icy day follows, especially on Saturday, when the sun sometimes comes out. It will snow again in many places on Sunday.
However, it should be emphasized that the flakes are not falling everywhere yet. If you look out the window at the rain, you are probably on the western central plateau. There the snow line is between 400 and 700 meters, the thermometer shows between 2 and 5 degrees. The temperature differences between the west and the east are currently very large.
How do these differences arise?
The fresh air that the snow brings slowly moves from the northeast to the west. While there is a light breeze in the east with cold air, a gentle but brisk southwest wind blows in the west. This is called convergence that increases snowfall. The cold will only gradually spread across Switzerland. In Geneva, for example, it is 6 degrees and there are no signs of snow. But that may change on Friday.
The interview was conducted by Laura Sibold.
