Extreme weekend weather

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The centre of Geneva was hit by a flash hailstorm yesterday afternoon.

The hail covered the ground – giving the impression the city had had a snowfall.

It only lasted a few minutes, and Geneva fire services says they didn’t receive any calls related to the hail. 

It wasn’t the only extreme weather over the weekend. 

In the Alps, Meteosuisse says gusts of wind reached 200 kph at times. Trees were uprooted in Sion in canton Valais, nearby houses had damaged roofs and the power went out in many Valais villages.

The weather is being blamed on storm Monica which affected mainly Portugal, Spain and France. 

Forecasters say it created vast air pressure differences which led to the strong winds. 

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