Switzerland experienced its strongest storm this winter, with gusts of up to 179 kilometres per hour recorded in the Swiss mountains. Storm Roxana caused damage across Swiss cities, with the emergency services receiving hundreds of call-outs over the weekend.

High winds in Swiss mountains and cities

The latest storm to hit Switzerland was characterised by extreme winds, the strongest being up to 179 km / h on the Gornergrat. Public transport ground to a halt across many areas of the country, with the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn suspending services and many ski resorts having to close some gondolas on Monday.

The high winds were not just reserved for the mountains, with Fluntern, a district of Zurich, experiencing winds of up to 120 km / h. A report by the Zurich cantonal police said that there had been 60 call outs overnight on Sunday (excluding those in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur) and 50 road incidents were caused by fallen trees or branches. Thankfully no one was hurt.

The high winds also proved tricky for pilots, with those attempting to land at Swiss airports having to “go around” several times due to the high winds upon landing. SWISS reported that three of its aircraft were only able to land in Zurich on the second attempt on Sunday.

Storm Roxana set to subside over the coming days

MeteoNews reports that the weather for the rest of the week will be more temperate, with the storm subsiding later on Monday. The rest of the week will remain dry with temperatures of between three and nine degrees Celsius.

For those wanting some more warmth, Ticino will see temperatures of up to 14 degrees over the next week with hardly any cloud cover. Not warm enough to swim in the lake, but an excellent opportunity to get some sun.