Swiss get a breath of summer – at last
Switzerland has been basking in sunny weather this weekend, with temperatures in the high 20s almost everywhere, and hitting 30 in a few places.
Various outdoor events have enticed large crowds. In the biggest such, about 100,000 people watched the firework display over Lake Lucerne on Saturday night as part of the Lucerne festival.
As for music fans, nearly 82,000 attended the St Gallen Open Air event and more than 50,000 trucker and country fans gathered in Interlaken for their own festival.
Viasuisse, the Swiss traffic information centre, reported heavy traffic on the roads.
One attraction in several cantons was the ascent of cows to their summer pasture.
Summer has been a long time in coming this year. The previous weekend snow fell as low as 1500 meters, and temperatures were down to 12 or 13 degrees in areas north of the Alps.
May was also cold and wet: according to the Swiss meteorological service there had not been so little sun in the first 20 days of the month since 1884.
Forecasters say the weather is likely to remain warm until the end of the week north of the Alps, although some rain is forecast for the south.
June 27 is known in German speaking areas as Seven Sleepers Day. According to traditional weather lore, what the weather does on that day will remain the same for the next seven weeks.
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