The current cool and unsettled phase with recurring showers will continue in the north until around the middle of next week, with maximum temperatures mostly reaching only 7 to 10 degrees and snow often falling from 500 to 1000 meters. In the south, it will be partly to quite sunny and much milder until Sunday, but then, as in the north, it is likely to be unsettled and partly wet, especially on Monday, until the middle of the week. This will further reduce the temperature surplus in April, which has already dropped significantly compared to mid-month.
Cool weather phase with endurance
Since Tuesday, it has been cool, unstable and repeatedly wet in the area of influence of a high-altitude trough in the north. As a result, the April temperature surplus has already fallen from just under 5 degrees to just over 3 degrees since Monday (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Previous temperature deviation in April compared to the long-term average 1991-2020; Source: MeteoNews, UBIMET
There will be little change to the cool and unsettled weather in the north until the middle of next week. While it will be friendly in the south until Sunday with partly northerly foehn winds, partly quite sunny and milder than in the north, the southern side of the Alps will also be affected by unsettled weather to some extent in the first half of the week. Below is a brief overview of the weather development in the coming days.
Today, Friday, mostly cloudy and increasingly wet in the north
During the night, there were clear spells, especially in the west, so that temperatures dropped to just below 0 degrees across the board, with temperatures on the ground dropping well below zero in places (see here). Today, Friday, it will be mostly cloudy and increasingly wet in the afternoon with snow from around 1000 to 1100 meters. In addition, an increasingly strong south-westerly wind with gusts of around 50 to 70 km/h will develop at a maximum of around 7 to 9 degrees. In the south, it will be friendly with sunny spells and dry at a much milder 16 to 17 degrees (see Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Weather today Friday; Source: MeteoNews
Very cool and unsettled weekend in the north
On Saturday night, a disturbance will bring heavy precipitation in places, especially along the Alps, with the snow line dropping to around 600 to 700 meters. In the Alpine valleys, wet flakes are also possible as the precipitation cools down. The weekend will then bring very unsettled weather with little sunshine at best and occasional downpours. At only around 7 to 9 degrees, the snow line will mostly be around 600 to 900 meters. There will also be some north to west winds on Saturday.
In the south, the weather will be much better and quite sunny at the weekend, with a gusty northerly foehn on Saturday. Temperatures will be significantly higher than in the north, reaching around 17 to 18 degrees. A trip to the south is therefore definitely worthwhile this weekend.
Monday to Wednesday unstable throughout Switzerland
From Monday to Wednesday, not only the north but now also the south will be affected by the low pressure system as it moves from the Poland/Germany area to the Gulf of Lions/Gulf of Genoa area (see Fig. 3).
Fig. 3: In the night to Wednesday, the high low will be in the Gulf of Lions/Gulf of Genoa area (European weather model ECMWF); Source: MeteoNews, UBIMET
It is now unsettled throughout Switzerland with occasional showers. The main focus will be in the Alps and on Monday in the south, with only isolated showers expected on the Central Plateau. For the south, however, it is uncertain on Tuesday and Wednesday how strongly the high-altitude low will influence the weather. Temperatures will remain low, with only around 7 to 10 degrees in the north and 8 to 13 degrees in the south. The snow line will mostly be between 500 and 1000 meters, in the south slightly higher in places. It may clear up a little in the northern swiss plateau, especially on Monday night, so the risk of frost will be slightly higher.
Thursday expected to be partly sunny
According to current reports, Thursday looks like being partly sunny and somewhat milder weather with at most isolated showers in the north. Towards the weekend, there should be plenty of sunshine and increasingly milder weather, bringing the exceptionally long cool phase to an end.
Finally, an overview of the weather and temperature development from tomorrow Saturday to next Thursday (see Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Weather forecast from Saturday to Thursday; Source: MeteoNews
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