Winter to arrive early in Switzerland as country has greyest day of 2022

Those looking for an early return of summer in Switzerland are set to be disappointed, as forecasts have predicted that near-freezing temperatures and grey clouds will dominate the weather for the foreseeable future. This week also saw a strange and rather glum record broken, as November 28 was officially the greyest day in Switzerland in 2022.

Winter set to arrive in Switzerland early, says MeteoNews

According to Meteonews, winter has arrived early in Switzerland, with temperatures remaining well below average for the time of year. While Switzerland is still on track for having its hottest year on record, the change in weather will mean an early return to winter hats, gloves and coats, especially if you are headed to the mountains.

For the rest of the week, the country's weather will be influenced by a high-pressure area from Russia, which is set to bring “dry and icy air” to Switzerland. After highs of 8 degrees celsius on Tuesday, Swiss cities like Zurich, Basel and Geneva will see temperature highs of just 4 to 5 degrees for the rest of the week. 

Cold temperatures and little snow forecast for Switzerland

“In the morning, the temperatures reach just above zero degrees, so no frost is to be expected," noted Roger Perret from MeteoNews. He said that while “meteorological winter” in Switzerland starts on December 21 - when the sun is closest to the Tropic of Cancer - wintery conditions have already arrived in most parts of the country and will continue for the foreseeable future.

For those hoping the cold temperatures and overcast conditions will bring a lot of snow to the cities and ski resorts of Switzerland, sadly, the weather is expected to be very dry over the next week. The only rain is forecast for Wednesday, when a “few flakes” of snow can be expected above 1.000 metres above sea level.

November 28, 2022 was the greyest day of the year in Switzerland

Strangely, this week has also seen a meteorological milestone broken, albeit quite a dull one: November 28 was officially the “greyest day of 2022.” MeteoNews reported that Swiss cities saw “zero minutes” of sunshine on Monday and that “even by extrapolation - on the basis of satellite data and radiative balances - [there was] no sun to get your teeth into."

The company explained that "an altitude depression is located around our country and is responsible for extensive cloud cover, going from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea via the Alps.” For those interested, the sunniest day in Switzerland this year was on June 11, 2022.