Temperatures drop to lowest in 30 years

Parts of Switzerland have experienced the lowest mid-May temperatures for 30 years Keystone

Parts of Switzerland woke up to snow on Thursday morning as some parts of the country experienced the coldest mid-May weather in 30 years. Temperatures dropped to as low as -6.9 degrees Celsius at Samedan in canton Graubünden.

Snow was recorded overnight at 600 metres in canton Glarus, and at between 800-1,300m in other parts of the country, according to the Swiss weather service MeteoSwiss.

Temperatures dropped to -0.9 degrees at Payerne in Vaud and -0.7 in Bern. Davos recorded a low of -5.1 degrees while at 6.30am on Thursday the temperature was still as low as 1.8 degrees.

Ticino escaped the worst of the weather with temperatures dropping to ten degrees overnight.

The cold snap has arrived courtesy of a mass of arctic air which hit Switzerland at the beginning of the week. On Wednesday, snow was reported overnight in the Alps at 800m.

Warmer air from the south-west will bring temperatures up on Thursday and Friday before a new cold front arrives at the beginning of  next week, said MeteoSuisse in a statement.

Record temperatures

Highest recorded temperature

: 41.5 degrees Celsius, August 11, 2003, Grono (Graubünden)

Lowest recorded temperature

: -41.8 degrees Celsius, January 12, 1987, La Brévine (Neuchâtel)

Driest location

: Ackersand (Valais), average annual rainfall 521mm

Wettest location

: Säntis, (north eastern Switzerland), average annual rainfall 2,701mm

Most rainfall in one hour

: 91.2mm, August 28, 1997, Locarno-Monti (Ticino)

Most rainfall in one month

: 1,239mm, April 1986, Camedo (Ticino)

Most snow in one day

: 130cm, April 15, 1999, Berninapass

Most snow in three days

: 229cm, February 13-15, 1990, Weissfluhjoch

Strongest wind in mountainous area

: 268 km/h, February 27, 1990, Grand Saint Bernard pass

Strongest wind in lowlands

: 190 km/h, July 15, 1985, Glarus

(Source: MeteoSwiss)