A storm is hitting Switzerland today. Wind speeds of well over 100 km/h have already been measured. You can stay up to date in the Nau.ch ticker.
The most important thing in brief
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Today, Thursday, was very stormy in large parts of Switzerland.
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MeteoSwiss has issued a level 3 storm warning for German-speaking Switzerland.
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Wind speeds of over 140 km/h have already been measured.
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You can stay up to date in the Nau.ch ticker.
Thursday is stormy in parts of Switzerland, autumn is finally arriving. Storm “Benjamin” is causing gusts well over 100 km/h today.
Top speeds of 60 to 90 km/h were expected in the flatlands, and up to 120 km/h at higher altitudes. These values have now been exceeded in many places.
Nau.ch keeps you up to date in the ticker:
17:30: Trailer of delivery truck overturned on highway. Due to a strong gust of wind, an accident occurred on the A13 motorway near Rüthi SG on Thursday afternoon. According to the St.Gallen cantonal police, a 51-year-old man was traveling from Oberriet towards Sennwald with his van and a trailer. A gust of wind hit the vehicle combination, causing the trailer to tip onto its side and rest in the middle of the road. Both lanes were blocked and traffic had to be stopped.
16:37: Storm “Benjamin” caused extensive damage in the canton of Bern on Thursday. The Bern cantonal police had received over 80 reports by this afternoon.
Water in buildings, objects on roadways and fallen trees were reported to the police, as a spokeswoman said at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. Between 7 a.m. and around 3 p.m., the police received a total of 82 reports. 9 reports were received from the city of Bern, 44 from the Bernese Oberland, 16 from the Mittelland, Emmental and Oberaargau and 13 from the Bernese Jura.
16:23: The storm also raged in Basel. As the police wrote in a statement, a roof covering in Gundeli was blown away. Some fallen trees also had to be removed, and cars were also damaged.
15.00: Due to the strong winds, pilots at Zurich Airport are also struggling. A British Airways plane had to take off over the runway. The plane, which was flying from London to Zurich, was unable to touch down because of the difficulties.
11.45: The storm “Benjamin” is sweeping over the Chasseral JU at speeds of up to 131 km/h. Footage from 11 a.m. shows how strong the wind gusts are on the mountain.
11.00: Rail traffic is also affected by the violent storm that is moving through Switzerland. Various routes are interrupted due to fallen trees.
For example, commuters on the route between Solothurn West and Oberdorf SO have to switch to replacement buses. The route between Basel SBB and Laufen is currently restricted due to an obstacle on the tracks.
Even in French-speaking Switzerland, not all trains run as scheduled. Among other things, the route between Chamby VD and Les Avants VD is interrupted.
Highest value on Basel’s local mountain
10.35: A new peak value was measured near Basel. According to Meteonews, a gust of 142 km/h was recorded on Basel’s local mountain St. Chrischona.
Behind it is La Dôle VD with a gust speed of 140 km/h. A gust of 131 km/h was also measured on the Chasseral JU.
135 km/h measured above Les Diablerets VD
09.55: The storm is currently hitting Switzerland quite hard. As Meteonews reports, the strongest gust to date was measured at 135 km/h on the glacier of Les Diablerets VD.
It’s also blowing quite a bit on the Chasseral JU at the moment. A peak wind speed of 122 km/h has so far been recorded on the mountain in the Jura.
161 km/h on France’s northern coast
09.30: Storm “Benjamin” has hit France the hardest so far. Peak values are measured particularly in Normandy on the north coast. For example, 161 km/h was recorded in Fécamp.
First hurricane gust on the Moléson FR
09.20: The first hurricane gust was recorded on Moléson FR early in the morning. At an altitude of almost 2000 m, 118 km/h was measured, as SRF reports.
In the lowlands, the strongest gust so far reached 94 km/h. This strength was measured in Delémont JU.
Warning level 3 in parts of Switzerland
06.00: The federal government has issued a warning for large parts of the country. Warning level 3 applies in the northern half.
All cantons in German-speaking Switzerland are affected, among others. There is a warning about breaking branches and falling trees.
Forests should be avoided and cars should not be parked near trees, advises MeteoSwiss. Loose items should also be securely secured.
