Leaves began to fall seriously last week in Vaud (Saint Prex)

First winter snow of 2009 above Aminona, Valais: 12 October

Update 14:00  Lausanne / Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – If anyone still had doubts, autumn has arrived, and in the Swiss Alps that means the first snowfall of the winter season, at high altitudes. Temperatures dropped during the night of Sunday to Monday in the Alps and while the cooler temperatures came with heavy rain around Lausanne, they brought snow to the Alps, starting at about 2000 metres altitude.

Tunnels closed, could snow down to 800 metres or lower

Heavy winds and snow were recorded in several parts of Switzerland by MeteoSwiss, the national weather service, with gusts well over 130 kph. Several tunnels closed Monday morning for the winter: Furka, San Bernardino, Klausen Nufenen and Grimsel.

Forecasts show snow falling to 800 metres in some areas, with temperatures falling: western Switzerland’s range Thursday 15 October is expected to be 2-8C, with even cooler temperatures in the east of the country, according to MeteoSwiss.

Click on images to view larger

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.