An arctic weather system could bring Switzerland’s coldest winter snap since February 2012, says the weather service MeteoNews.
Effect of Bise in Geneva in 2015_© Hector Christiaen _ Dreamstime.com
France, Scandinavia, Russia and also the UK and Italy are likely to feel the chill too.
Heating of air in the arctic stratosphere has upset the normal flow of weather. Winds in Europe typically blow off the Atlantic from west to east. However, this high altitude heating of air has reversed the flow of weather creating winds blowing from Siberia towards the Atlantic, according to MeteoNews.
Swiss Meteo described the arctic weather event as a major sudden stratospheric warming.
Current cold is expected to subside towards the end of this week, but return with force on Sunday with temperatures declining as the week progresses. Temperatures of between -3 and -6 are expected on the Swiss plateau, with temperatures as low as -10 predicted at 1,000 metres and -20 to -25 degrees possibles at 2,000 metres.
- Temperatures plummet in Switzerland, but some of the coldest places are not where you’d expect (Le News)
The infamous bise wind is expected to blow too. This will make the temperature on some parts of the plateau feel like -10 to -15, and deliver the wind’s characteristic ice sculptures.
No significant snow is predicted, although Swiss Meteo says it is still difficult to be precise due to the uncertainty of their models.
More on this:
MeteoNews press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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