The federal government warns of freezing rain on Saturday

The federal government warns of freezing rain on Saturday
The federal government warns of freezing rain on Saturday

03.01.2025, 13:2903.01.2025, 15:07

Are you going home by bike, motorbike or car on Saturday evening or Sunday night? Then you should be careful – or, in the best case scenario, avoid such a trip altogether.

The reason for this is possible freezing rain: the federal government issued a warning on Friday afternoon. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, freezing rain is expected across the central and eastern midlands. According to the federal government’s natural hazard bulletin, the slippery road warning of danger level 3 (significant danger) applies from Saturday, January 4th, from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning.

There is a risk of slippery roads here:

Bild: naturgefahren.ch

Icy cold on Saturday

The entire Saturday will be icy anyway, at least in the lowlands under the high fog, the limit of which is around 1000 meters. It should be quite sunny above that. With a bit of luck, the high fog could clear up in places, but it will remain cold practically everywhere: According to MeteoNews, temperatures between -2 and -1 degrees can be expected in the east. In the West, at least “delicate plus temperatures” are achieved.

Warm front melts the precipitation at altitude

The freezing rain on Sunday night is caused by a warm front moving in on Saturday evening. However, temperatures on the ground will remain below freezing point for longer, explains MeteoNews in the “MeteoBlog”. At the same time, a “positively temperate” layer forms at altitudes between around 1,000 and 2,000 meters. While the precipitation initially falls from the sky as snow, it begins to melt in this layer from late Saturday evening. Then it falls “into the base layer, which is still at a negative temperature, so that the precipitation can freeze and ice on the ground.”

Later, in the second half of the night, the risk of freezing rain quickly decreases again as the cold air close to the ground is also cleared out. At the same time, precipitation is increasing and heavy rain is likely to occur. But not for long: With the help of the increasingly strong foehn, the weather improves over the course of Sunday and it becomes quite sunny – and warm: with southwest winds, temperatures are between 6 and 11 degrees. (lak)

More about weather and climate:

This is what the New Year’s Eve fireworks would have looked like

Video: watson

This might also interest you:

Are you going home by bike, motorbike or car on Saturday evening or Sunday night? Then you should be careful – or, in the best case scenario, avoid such a trip altogether.

Swiss

-

-

PREV 10 years since the Charlie Hebdo attack in 12 titles
NEXT Michelle Buteau blasts Dave Chappelle for anti-trans jokes in Netflix special