Too warm and too wet Changeable December brings extreme weather year to a close
December showed its changeable side, with above-average amounts of precipitation in many places. Overall, the weather year was exceptional - and once again far too warm.
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- Once again, Switzerland has (almost) had an extremely warm year.
- The exceptional weather year ends with a changeable December
The weather year 2024 ends with a changeable December. Two periods of precipitation at the beginning and end of the month brought above-average amounts of precipitation overall, especially to the northern slopes of the Alps and parts of the Jura.
North of the Alps and in the Alps, precipitation fell frequently from December 2 to 9, with mostly mild conditions at low altitudes, as MeteoSwiss reported on Monday. After that, there was plenty of sunshine due to a strong area of high pressure. The air pressure was unusually high in some regions. According to MeteoSwiss, one of the ten highest values for the month of December was recorded at over 30 measuring locations.
On the southern side of the Alps, there were two very sunny periods from December 1 to 6 and from December 11 to 16. There was no precipitation in some places in the south until December 18.
Above-average amounts of snow on the Gotthard
On December 22, the weather even turned stormy, according to MeteoSwiss. In the Alps, fresh snowfall of 70 to 90 centimetres fell regionally from the morning of 19 to the morning of 24 December. Locally, there were also amounts of over 110 centimetres. On the Jura mountains, the amount of fresh snow reached 50 to 60 centimetres in some areas. The Gotthard region, higher regions of Valais, parts of the Bernese Oberland and the Jura mountains in particular saw significantly above-average amounts of snow around Christmas.
At the end of the month and thus of the year, there was high fog north of the Alps, which did not dissipate from December 27 to 30.
Overall, Switzerland had an extremely warm year. It experienced the mildest winter since records began and some very wet months. The national average annual temperature in 2024 was 1.4 degrees above the 1991 norm in 2020.
