After a rather chilly spring, it has suddenly become summer in the last few days. You can tell by the pale extremities that our fellow human beings are showing off as they stroll through the city, by the pigeons and couples playing turtle and, last but not least, by the temperature. A summer day is, at least according to meteorological understanding, a day on which the maximum temperature reaches at least 25°.
Current situation
The first summer days of the year were seen in many places in the Alpine region on Monday, and tomorrow, Thursday, also has a lot of potential in this respect. A low over north-western Europe and a high in the east are responsible for the change of season. On its front, the low pressure is shoveling mild air from North Africa into the Alpine region, while the high pressure is providing sunshine. Thanks to this combination, the weather is warm and mostly dry. However, the air transported in from the south is relatively humid, which means that the sun is not entirely unclouded. In the afternoon, spring clouds will form, from which isolated showers or even thunderstorms (it really is summer!) will fall.
Sometimes cloudy nights and high temperatures have taken their toll on the snow cover in recent days. Until recently, the brownish tracks of wet snow avalanches that have gone down were like scars on the glistening white slopes. Avalanche warning level 4 was issued for lower altitudes in Tyrol this afternoon.
Outlook
However, summer is not yet here to stay! The low pressure is shifting a little, the flow is turning from southwest to northwest and a cold front is making its way towards the Alps. A significant drop in temperatures and some fresh snow are expected on Friday, with the western slopes being favored for snow. From today's perspective, the main focus of precipitation is likely to be in central Switzerland, with the magic meter at least within the realm of possibility. It will be interesting to see the exact forecast from our colleague the oracle. Saturday will remain cloudy, on Sunday, with a bit of luck, there will be the first clearings, but then it will have to be really lucky. It will gradually get warmer and sunnier again at the beginning of next week.
