Weather Cold front leads to closed passes and record temperatures

Friday's cold front caused record temperatures and closed mountain passes. The snow line was between 1200 and 1500 meters on Saturday, as the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) wrote on its website.

The Pragel Pass between the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz was closed early on Saturday morning, according to the website of the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS). The Klausen, Furka, Gotthard, Grimsel, Flüela, Susten and Nufenen passes, which were already closed on Friday due to snowfall, remained closed.

MeteoSwiss expected another five to 15 centimetres of fresh snow by Saturday evening, especially on the eastern northern slopes of the Alps above 1,400 to 1,800 meters.

First hot, then cold

The low temperatures led to record highs in some places on Friday. Since measurements began, the maximum values in the first half of September had never been so low locally, as MeteoSwiss reported on the short message service X on Saturday night.

In Glarus, MeteoSwiss recorded a high of 7.8 degrees. The previous record for the first half of September was a high of 8.5 degrees. The value for Glarus is particularly astonishing. Just a week ago, this measuring station had recorded a new September high of 30.6 degrees.

In Meiringen BE, Altdorf UR, Interlaken BE, Engelberg OW and on the Jungfraujoch, MeteoSwiss also recorded the lowest maximum values ever measured in the first half of September. On the Jungfraujoch, for example, the maximum temperature was minus 11.8 degrees. According to MeteoSwiss, the previous record was around one degree warmer.

Expected flooding in European countries

While winter jackets were brought out in Switzerland, other countries were preparing for flooding. Persistent rain on Friday in Austria, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic increased concerns that rivers could burst their banks.

"We are preparing for the worst-case scenarios," said the Czech head of government Petr Fiala in the capital Prague. Some rivers are expected to experience floods as severe as those that statistically only occur once a century. The situation could also worsen in Germany.

SDA