Frankfurt flights cancelled as heavy snow moves into city Thursday, Luxembourg passengers also stranded by snow
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Weather in the centre of Europe remains capricious, with Paris recovering from an unexpectedly heavy snowfall Wednesday 8 December and Frankfurt airport now cancelling most flights. What the forecasters called a “light snow shower” is turning out to be a heavier one. Meanwhile, the Jura, which enjoyed deep snows last weekend, and the Swiss Alps, which are mostly covered in a thin layer of white stuff, are waiting for their turn.
Luxembourg flights are being delayed, also due to snow.
Frankfurt is a main international hub for Swiss flights, so the cancelled flights between the German city and Geneva and Zurich is leading to several cancelled events, including a presentation by a delegation from the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park to the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Friday. Their flight was cancelled and all others are full, the chamber reports.
Champion Xavier de la Rue during the Xtreme events in Verbier, a centre for winter extreme sports, for competitors and tourists
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss parliament has taken 10 years to work out federal legislation, but in future tourists visiting the country who want to do extreme sports will have guides who are certified to work throughout the country, not just in one canton.
A rafting accident in 1999 that killed 21 people in canton Bern led to the legislation, which was finalized Thursday morning 9 December. Companies that offer extreme sports, which including canyoning, rafting, bungie-jumping and several winter extreme sports, have been working with cantons to improve safety conditions and develop certification at that level. Seven cantons currently offer certification and, according to TSR, 60 percent of companies in Switzerland are already certified.
Links to other sites: TSR (Fre), Travelchannel, My Switzerland and tourism office in Lake Maggiore,
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The cold front from the northwest that is expected to abruptly end the Lake Geneva region’s three-day warm spell starting Thursday night has taken a foothold in France, notably in Paris. Buses, regional trains and many Metro lines have virtually stopped running, airports have offered spotty service, traffic is snarled and even the Eiffel Tower, famously open year-round, has closed under a cloak of invisibility.
TGV service between Paris and Switzerland is still running, but the Paris-Basel-Zurich evening train is 1 hour 20minutes late. For CCF rail traffic updates, the French version tends to have the latest details before the English version.
Links to other sites: AFP, Le Monde offers a TV telezapping view of the crippled French capital and region around it.
Télézapping : La neige engloutit la Tour Eiffel
envoyé par lemondefr. – L'info internationale vidéo.
Expect rain, snow, wind and the occasional ray of sunshine in the Lake Geneva region, 7-12 December
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Expect warmer weather, then rain, then a sudden cold spell followed by snow down to the plain in the next five days: the forecast is for Lake Geneva area weather is changeable, according to MeteoSwiss, with a bit of everything. Check GenevaLunch for daily updates from the national weather service.
The region is, at least briefly, mostly back to normal after snow turned to rain, causing icy conditions everywhere. Hardest hit were the mountain areas where roads turned very slippery, with several accidents in the Jura-Neuchatel hills. The St Bernard tunnel and Simplon, two main north-south truck traffic routes that generally remain open, were closed Sunday night and Monday morning due to heavy snowfalls followed by icy conditions.
Wintry winds will blow in Jura, Alps
Strong winds will pick up and are likely to be around 100 kph in the Jura and Alps starting Tuesday afternoon, reaching their height Wednesday.
Take care with your umbrella Thursday if you’re near Lake Geneva. Strong winds will blow around the lake Thursday, from 50-100 kph.
Temperatures will fall Thursday
Geneva and Lausanne will have a temperature range of 4-9C Tuesday 7 December, while in Sion, where temperatures are often slightly higher in winter, the forecast is for 1-7C. Temperatures will drop rapidly Thursday and remain cold, with -1C to 2C in Geneva and -3C to 2C in Sion, with temperatures in main Alpine resorts colder: Zermatt is expected to have -7C with highs of -1C.
Rain, then snow again
Rain or snow are forecast in western Switzerland up to the weekend, but with warm temperatures until Thursday the snow line has moved up to 1900m. When the cold front moves in Thursday, snow could fall on the plains, although Valais is expected to have little or no snow Thursday and Friday, with cloudiness alternating with sunshine.
City’s 31 cm most snow in 30 years, followed by frosty temperatures
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva’s Cointrin International Airport re-opened Thursday morning 2 December at 06:00 and by 08:00 flights were mostly back to normal. Airport officials warn passengers to arrive two hours early, nevertheless, and suggest taking public transport rather than driving.
The city is still digging itself out, as is most of the region on the west and north sides of Lake Geneva, after heavy snow Tuesday night and Wednesday 1 December. Geneva had 31 cm of snow, the most it has seen since 1979, when 23 cm fell 4 January. The record snowfall for one day for the city was in 1895, 25 February, when 58 cm of snow landed on the city.
Temperatures fell to nearly -6C in Geneva in the early hours of Thursday.
Few ventured out early Wednesday morning (Saint Prex, canton Vaud)
An aptly named street Wednesday morning
Update 09:30 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The overnight snowfall throughout the Lake Geneva region is causing major traffic disruptions Wednesday 1 December. Cointrin Airport in Geneva is closed until at least 14:00 and travellers are being advised to check with their airlines.
The TPG in Geneva decided early in the morning not to run any of its buses and trams until further notice. The Tribune de Geneve is providing regular updates on the city’s public transport situation, as is RSR, which says some trams are running in the city, at 08:00.
Geneva, with 20 cm of fresh snow overnight, and more falling, has been the hardest hit area, according to MeteoSwiss reports.
Roads are considered moderately dangerous, with icy conditions, from Geneva to Lausanne and up the hillsides to the Jura. Road conditions in Valais are good, with less fresh snow than around the lake.
Everyone's new best friend, on a topsy-turvy snowy morning (Saint Prex, canton Vaud)
Lausanne’s public transport is running, with relatively minor delays, after 10 cm of snow fell overnight.
The CFF Swiss train system is operating, but with some delays: details for delayed trains and a map are updated frequently. Passengers were stranded Tuesday evening along the Lausanne-Geneva line when the Intercity train had a technical problem from about 18:00-20:00, but the problem was not weather-related.
The Swiss highway department’s truck info road updates and TCS (Touring Club Suisse) provide details of congestion and closed roads, with traffic in the Lausanne-Geneva area slow Wednesday morning, but with fewer people than usual on the road before 08:00, reports one commuter.
Schools are open in Geneva and neighbouring France, but with limited public transport, some children will not be making it to school.
Lake Geneva area and plains expected to get 10cm fresh snow Wednesday
Cosmos prediction, snow during 24 hours starting Wednesday 1 December, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The cold air dominating regional weather Tuesday 30 November is setting the stage for what is heavy snow by Lake Geneva region standards, with the forecast calling for 10-20 cm of fresh snow Wednesday.
Lausanne and Bernese Alps, seen from Lavigny, canton Vaud, 29 November 2010
MeteoSwiss‘s warning bulletin says snow will start Tuesday during the night and will fall throughout the day Wednesday.
Highs of -1C are expected in most of western Switzerland.
Click on images to view larger
Snowman Monday in Etoy, canton Vaud, Switzerland: he'll soon get a new white cape, warmer and thicker
Update 14:30 Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva is getting a load of the white stuff, with snow coming down steadily in the city that is often the last bit of Switzerland to have snow. Buses were not running, taxis were scarce and bicycles were slower than usual Saturday morning in the city. Flights were reportedly delayed Saturday morning but by early afternoon were leaving and arriving on schedule. The canton’s traffic was “chaotic” during the day, according to the Tribune de Geneve, with 60 accidents recorded.
MeteoSwiss has a new road safety alert service for German-speaking Switzerland and the Alps (Fre), so if you’re heading out in the car, check this first. Western Switzerland will occasionally be included. You can also see web cam images for all of the national Swiss weather service stations on one web page: early afternoon 27 November the sun was hard to find.
Friday 26 November, early evening, Lausanne and Evian looked like this from across the lake, where the snow line down to the edge of Lake Geneva is visible.
Evian, France, viewed from Saint Prex, canton Vaud in Switzerland, 26 November 2010 near sunset
Lausanne, Ouchy and Lake Geneve, viewed from Saint Prex, near sunset 26 November 2010
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A French driver in his 30s is in serious condition at the Chuv (University Hospitals) in Lausanne, reports the Tribune de Geneve, following an early morning head-on collision near La Givrine, in the Jura mountains above St Cergue. The driver was passing other cars at 06:45 on the snowy road that links France and Switzerland but the line of cars on his side of the two-lane road was too tight for him to get back in line. The other driver, also French and in his 40s according to the paper, suffered rib and hand injuries. La Givrine is some 16 km above Nyon.
First snow, winter 2010-11 (30 August!), near Crans-Montana, Switzerland
Monts Jura, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Monday morning brought chilly temperatures, 9C at 1,000 metres in the Alps, where autumn apples are ripening earlier than usual, and fresh snow at 2,200 metres! If you’re hiking, climbing or mountain-biking, take warm clothes.
It’s not too early in the season to think about ski tickets, reports Shirley Curran, our Jura correspondent, with her first pre-season ski news for 2010-2011:
Jura season tickets
This is the last weekend that the telecabines from Lelex and Crozet will operate for the summer season but winter is on its way and, exceptionally this year, from September 6, it will be possible to buy Monts Jura season tickets on-line at the considerably cheaper pre-season ‘super-promotion’ rate. The resort will be operating one of the races from the Women’s International calendar in February.
Click on images to view larger
Rechy, Valais, near Sion, Switzerland, first snow, 30 August 2010
Fresh snow at 2,000 metres, Valais, Monday morning 31 May
Canton Uri, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Furka Mountain Pass, which had just re-opened, is closed again.
The reason? Heavy snow 31 May!
According to authorities in Canton Uri, the pass that connects Uri and the Valais had just re-opened last Thursday.
Drivers thinking of taking the Klausen or the Oberalp Passes will need to put chains on their tires.
Lyons, France (GenevaLunch) – If it rains in Geneva, it snows in France. The French meteorological service reports snow is still falling in neighbouring France, making this one of the longest snow-seasons in years.
Due to the heavy snow yesterday 5 May in the southern Alps, the Arche and Montgenevre Passes had to be closed.
There was more snow this winter in the south of France than the previous season, a meteo spokesperson told Dauphine Libéré. And there was less sun too. “About a month less,” says the expert.
Although the French meteorological service stops producing avalanche alerts once the ski season ends, it is cautioning that the risk of avalanches is high.
Jura, daffodils April 2010 (photo, Shirley Curran)
The temperatures in Switzerland have been warming up for the past week, but the national weather service, MeteoSwiss, says the level of precipitation has been unusually low.
The first real spring day, defined as the temperature going above 25C, was Sunday 25 April in Sion. The snow in the Jura near Geneva is rapidly disappearing, giving way to meadows of daffodils and other bright flowers.
Weather forecast, Jura and Alps reports, Easter weekend traffic information
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Snowline in Valais, near Leukebad
Fresh snow above Aminona, Valais 31 March 2010
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The long Easter weekend is starting and school holidays in Switzerland are well underway: expect traffic jams on the road but a good mix of vacation options once you’re off the road.
Weather forecast
Highs ranging from 9-11C in the Lake Geneva region this weekend, with some rain Saturday, sunshine alternating with overcast skies Sunday. The weather should become more springlike by Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 16C and sunshine. (MeteoSwiss)
Road traffic forecast
Fechy, Bougy-sur-Villars in canton Vaud, 11:00 Thursday 1 April: fresh snow!
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Spring has arrived in canton Vaud! And if you believe that you’ll believe all the good things in the Swiss news today, such as the International Olympic Committee moving to Zurich (Lausanne Cite) and the new requirement for dog car seats, effective 1 January (24 Heures, Fre).
Northern England and Scotland are expecting to have a foot of snow dumped on them in the pre-Easter holidays period. Northern Ireland was hit Tuesday night and the Met Office in the UK says unconfirmed reports of 20-30 cm of snow on the ground are coming in from that area. Meanwhile, the BBC reports the death of a teenager when her school bus crashed on icy roads, and thousands without electricity in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Strong winds are causing drifting and generally treacherous conditions in the northern British Isles.
Sion, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The body of a man found in the snow not far from a skilift in Champéry has been identified as that of a 36-year-0ld Frenchman from Dijon. The cause of death is not yet known, but foul play is not suspected, say Valais police. The man’s family had not heard from him since 20 December 2009. He was identified thanks to DNA tests.
Police had distributed photos found on him and asked the public for help in identifying him.
Head for the hills: Extreme World Championship in Verbier, balmy weather in the Alps, decent snow in Jura and an affordable new hut in Zermatt
This weekend we won't see fresh snow, but more green
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Temperatures are warming up nicely on the plain, but it remains cold enough in the mountains for skiers to find good snow. It’s not yet clear what conditions will be like for the Easter school holidays that start in a week, but for this weekend, the skiing is good if you stay above 2,000 metres.
If you’re still on the mountainside at 17:32 Saturday 20 March you can celebrate the first day of Spring there.
Snowpacks are weakening thanks to daytime sun radiation, says the Swiss national avalanche centre in its Friday 19 March bulletin, but avalanche danger is low to moderate.
Weather forecast, snow depth
The snow is disappearing in many areas, which the MeteoSwiss snow depth maps show.
Title: Snow and music weekend
Location: Saas Fee, Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: This is the second year of this international event that mixes music concerts and all snow sports.
Start Date: 2010-03-12
End Date: 2010-03-14
Title: Glacier bike downhill race
Location: Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: An incredible competition in Saas Fee that mixes two wheels, speed and lots of snow!
Date: 2010-03-06
Update 13 February: this is beautiful Swiss snow on Saturday!
Video (and skier): Anton Muller, at Bec Rond, Entremont, canton Valais, Switzerland (his photos and film clips on flickr)
Carnivals, cold, the down side of off-piste, Verbier and Jura reports
Verbier's February snow! (photo: Jessica Evans)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Glorious snow, biting cold in some places some of the time: call it winter in Switzerland! This weekend promises to be one of the best, with good crowds on the slopes, carnival starting in many areas, conditions great for skiing, sledding, ice-skating and more.
Weather forecast
A major snowstorm battered the US East Coast late Tuesday 9 February, the second in less than a week, forcing Congress in Washington, DC and the United Nations in New York to remain closed Wednesday. Reuters reports that keeping Washington federal workers at home for a third straight day is costly: estimated at $100 million a day. Schools are closed from Boston to Maryland, with 20-32 inches of snow predicted.
Links to other sites: Boston Globe, Reuters, Washington Post
Vaud ski vacation week starts, heavy snow expected, Jura primed for the crowds
Hot news from cool resorts: Crans-Montana, Verbier, Villar
Crozets, France 20 January 2010 (photo: Shirley Curran)
Update 17:25 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The snow is pouring down, even at the lakefront, and the mountains are promised buckets of it for the weekend, so pull out warm clothes that will keep you dry, whether you are going to the corner store or heading for the hills.
This is the start of the Vaud school vacation week, and nine other cantons plus some German regions start their holidays, so expect crowds on the road Friday night and Saturday morning.
The first carnivals are beginning in some German-speaking areas: this is celebrated over a period of weeks, with dates staggered from one area to another in Switzerland. Also note that Ticino received heavy snow on Friday and although the weather is expected to quickly warm up, some roads will be difficult.
Peak traffic hours are expected to be from 16:00-20:00 Friday and 08:00-15:00 Saturday, heading in the direction of Bern and Valais, according to the Swiss federal Highway Office. Good sources of information about the current traffic situation are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) and the federal road alerts for truck drivers. TSR, French language TV, also has a good map with accident and heavy traffic alerts. TCS also had a predicted traffic map showing heavy traffic areas for the weekend.
If you’re planning future road trips, you might want to check the new TCS web page that lists all the public holidays in Swiss cantons.
TCS offers an excellent course in winter driving, especially focusing on how to behave in snowy and icy conditions. Details
Weather forecast
Top of Saleve peaking out above Geneva's fog, 23 January 2010 (Photo: Obwoodman on flickr)
Highs of 4C Friday and Saturday falling to 3C Sunday, with snow falling to 500-1,000 metres Friday, 600-800m Saturday, with heavy clouds over much of the plains.
Chamonix, 2009 Freeride World Tour competition (Margot)
Chamonix, France (GenevaLunch) - The Freeride World Tour’s second event has been confirmed for Sunday 31 January in Chamonix, with snow conditions considered “excellent”. The Tour, in its third year, has four major events plus 17 qualifying events during the winter.
The season kicked off last week in Russia and after Chamonix the riders move on to Squaw Valley in the US and they finish the season 20 March in Verbier with the “Xtreme”, an event often called the most prestigious in the world of extreme skiing and snowboarding.
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
Click on images to view larger
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.
The state of the AI en route to the mountains, glorious Jura snow
Weekend walk and circus special in Nyon, Swiss skiers and boarders
Jura (Crozet) Wednesday 20 January (image: S Curran)
Crozet with blue skies - Geneva in the fog below
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - It’s January, so expect a mix of Spring moments and sudden snow showers on the lakefront but pure winter goodness in the mountains this weekend.
Wednesday it snowed in Nyon and along the lakefront, throughout the week the Jura has thrived, as large amounts of the white stuff came down, and the Alps have had sunshine again after gloomy spells.
The road out of town
If you’re heading out of the Geneva area to the Swiss Alps be aware that this is the first weekend when the new A1 autoroute signaling system is open, adding a third lane in each direction between Morges and Lausanne. The system is very easy to follow and there have been no accidents since it was put in place Monday, but you do need to drive attentively, with other drivers sometimes surprised to find the system there. It operates only in the afternoons, until Monday 25 January when it goes into use full-time.
Weather forecast
Saint Prex, Vaud, Switzerland 13 January: snow near Lake Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Snow right down to the lakefront is relatively unusual on Lake Geneva, but with temperatures hovering around -1C until 08:00, and snow falling all night, lakefront villages had the kind of snow ski resorts envy. TSR reports that the airport snow was of “exceptional quality” but also unusually slippery, which accounted for Geneva airport closing until 11:00. Geneva police reported a “normal” number of accidents in the region, but one in Thonex was a little more unusual than most: a man taking his wife to the hospital to have a baby hit a tram when his car slipped in the snow during a turn. There were no injuries, reports 20 Minutes.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Travelers’ woes in Geneva continued Sunday 10 January, when Cointrin Airport closed for six hours, the longest closure in 25 years, thanks to snow. The airport is now open again, after 10cm of snow was removed.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Thousands of airline passengers trying to head for the UK have found themselves stranded at Geneva’s Cointrin Airport, with flights canceled because of the coldest weather in the UK in 30 years and fresh snow in many parts of Britain. Airport spokesperson Bertrand Staempfli has recommended that passengers contact their airlines for more information. London is the top destination from Geneva. Flights from Zurich and Basel have also been delayed or cancelled.
Cars on trains, north-south Kandersteg-Loetschental link
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Snow began falling steadily down to 500 metres in the central Alpine areas in Switzerland, Monday evening 28 December, adding to travelers’ slowdowns that started over the weekend. Saturday was the annual heavy car traffic day in Swiss resort areas, with day skiers joining people who were starting or ending weekly rentals during the highest period of the year, Christmas to New Year’s.
Lines of cars several kilometres long formed Saturday late in the afternoon, coming down from Swiss ski resorts in canton Bern, mixing with north-south European traffic. The north-south piggyback (cars on trains) shortcut between Kandersteg and Goppenstein, a 15-minute tunnel trip through the Alps, has been moving several trains an hour filled with cars, since Christmas. The wait on Saturday was about 20 minutes, with the system working efficiently.
Sites with current traffic data: TCS automobile club, maps (Fre), TSR/swisstxt map and Swiss federal site for truck drivers
Link: Goppenstein train for cars and MeteoSwiss weather forecast for Switzerland
