Switzerland Italy: level 4 weather alarm in French-speaking fan zones

“An explosive meteorological cocktail!” These are the words used by Météosuisse to describe the stormy weather that will prevail in Switzerland this Saturday, the day when the Nati face the Squadra azzurra in the 8th finals of the European Football Championship.

While excitement is rising in the hearts of many Swiss supporters who will follow this duel from fan zones or cafes, Météosuisse issued a degree 4 alert on Friday, potential M in places, for several regions. The Arc du Jura, the Lake Geneva Basin and the Valais Alps are the most exposed.

In terms of cities, Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchâtel are likely to be particularly affected by storms.

Good weather with sunshine

However, Saturday began with mild, sunny weather. It is towards the end of the afternoon that the weather is likely to deteriorate, according to the forecast. The arrival of warm and very humid air with values ​​up to 21°C at around 1500 m, coupled with daytime warming will cause an unstable air mass.

Consequence: dynamic thunderstorms will cross French-speaking Switzerland and the Jura towards the northeast. Unlike the last storm events, these thunderstorms will be organized, moving and could produce high precipitation intensities, strong gusts of wind on the ground as well as large hailstones.

It’s in the evening that things will get complicated. The forecasts indicate a fairly critical situation with a high risk of supercell thunderstorms which can sometimes give rise to a tornado. “We expect a potentially destructive storm because it can be a train of storms accompanied by heavy hail, gusts and lightning,” explains Gill Dean, forecaster at Météosuisse.

“The storms are likely to dump a lot of water. The risk of flooding cannot be ruled out. Especially since the terraces are still flooded in places due to the recent bad weather.”

Push the Nati as far as possible

The forecaster “advises the population to take shelter and especially not to stay outdoors”. That’s the whole problem. How can supporters who are fully motivated behind the Nati prevent themselves from gathering in fan zones and cafés to make their voices heard?

If lightning strikes in the middle of a crowd, the risk of electrocution is high. Muscle disorders or cardiac arrest can result, explains Gill Dean. And he hammers home: “Between the pleasure of football and exposing oneself to the dangers of a potential tornado, everyone is free to make their choice.”

“At the Lausanne fan zone where thousands of people follow the competitions on giant screens, Florian Schmied says he closely follows the weather forecasts.

A member of the management team of the fan zone based at Place de la Navigation in Ouchy, he details the measures they are taking to deal with the situation. “We have tarpaulins to protect us from the gusts, but we will not hesitate to close the fan zone if the situation becomes critical.”

“Apart from getting wet, we don’t see any particular danger at the moment,” says Florian Schmied. “We are driven by the desire to push the Nati as far as possible.”

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Etonam Ahianyo is a journalist in the digital editorial team of paid media. Previously, he worked at “20 minutes”, “NewsExpress” and as a correspondent in West Africa for several international media outlets.More informations

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