Storm Roxana causes havoc

Pixabay

Storm Roxana caused havoc in many areas of the country overnight. Wind speeds of up to 150 kph were recorded in parts of Graubünden and Ticino – and around 30 cm of fresh snow fell in the Alps.

Strong winds were also down to the lower levels – in the Fluntern area of Zurich winds reached 100 kph. 

Trees were downed and roads and train lines closed, especially in cantons Aargau and Thurgau. 

At Zurich airport, cross winds forced several incoming aircraft to abort landings and go around. They all landed safely later. 

Air traffic controllers say 6 planes had to have a second attempt at landing – one of those planes landed on the third attempt. 

The heavy snow has pushed up avalanche alerts in many Alpine areas. The risk is said to be ‘considerable’. 

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play