Dusk at 1,100 metres in Valais, Switzerland Friday: snow falling, icy roads, few cars

Snow falling steadily, but snowplows quickly clear even secondary Swiss mountain roads.

Snowfall, dusk, Swiss Alps 20 January

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Update 19:20 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Weather forecasters in the Lake Geneva region had it right: snow began to fall Friday afternoon on the plain in the Lake Geneva region and more heavily in the mountains.

Given the cold weather and cold ground, the snow is likely to accumulate faster than usual, they said, suggesting traffic problems around rush hour Friday.

They had that right as well, with icy roads throughout the region by 16:00.

Cars were slipping on the snow-covered icy roads even at low altitudes and the only happy cars above 800 metres were those with chains or four-wheel drive vehicles.

Salt supplies are running low in most cantons, so plows will be out, but some back roads may not be de-iced as quickly as usual.

The snowfall is good news for resort areas, though, with good accumulations by late afternoon Friday, even along the Rhone, at the base of roads leading up to Vaud, Bern and Valais resorts.

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