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When it comes to the Swiss weather, it's worth taking a look at a Swiss weather app.
KEYSTONE
Whether you're commuting, hiking or barbecuing: A glance at the smartphone often decides whether the umbrella comes with you or not. However, many smartphone weather apps provide unreliable forecasts in Switzerland. Why is that?
Many well-known weather apps such as AccuWeather, Apple Weather or The Weather Channel are based on global weather models with a relatively coarse resolution (e.g. 9 to 25 kilometers). This may be sufficient for flat terrain, but not for Switzerland with its small-scale topography.
In contrast, Swiss providers such as MeteoSwiss work with specially developed models such as COSMO-1, which can depict even small local weather patterns - such as foehn valleys, fog pools or slope winds - with a resolution of just one kilometer. A clear advantage in terms of forecast quality.
The timeliness of weather data is crucial, especially in the event of sudden weather changes. MeteoSwiss updates its forecasts several times a day and uses modern nowcasting technologies to detect even short-term developments such as storm fronts at an early stage.
Many international apps, on the other hand, update less frequently or with a delay, which can lead to noticeable inaccuracies - especially with such rapidly changing weather conditions as in Switzerland.
Many global apps score points with modern graphics, animated rain clouds and colorful icons - but it is not always clear what exactly these icons mean. For example, "light rain" is interpreted in different ways: Anything from a brief drizzle to persistent precipitation is possible.
Swiss apps, on the other hand, often offer clearer explanations with a better breakdown by time of day and region - which helps decide whether to pack an umbrella or not.
Now to the question of all questions: Which weather app is the best? SRF Kassensturz has tested it: The best results in terms of forecast accuracy are delivered by apps that are tailored to Swiss conditions These providers know the local weather phenomena better than international solutions and take them into account accordingly.
