Some Swiss newspapers, such as 20 Minutes, have spotted a correlation between current divergent weather and Switzerland’s linguistic divides.
The Rösti Graben, that metaphorical dividing line between French- and German-speaking Switzerland, seems to fits with diverging weather conditions. Over the last 24 hours, some Swiss towns in the east have had a sprinkling of April snow, while those in the French-speaking west have missed out.
The video below, taken by a webcam and posted on lookr.com, shows the last 24 hours in the eastern city of St. Gallen.
St. Gallen › East: Klosterplatz
Further west in sunnier Geneva the last 24 hours have brought no snow.
Meanwhile over in Lugano to the south the foehn wind has kept the region relatively warm.
Lugano: San Salvatore und Bucht von
According to Meteo Suisse the cold snap is set to last a bit longer, progressively warming between now and Sunday. In Bern the temperature is forecast to hit a low of -4 tonight. In Zurich and Basel it will hit -1. Geneva (+2) though won’t make it into negative territory, and Lugano will descend to a relatively balmy +4.
Those who know Sesame Street might remember a show where Bert, the pointy-headed muppet, asks Bernie, the round-headed one, why he has a banana in his ear.
“Listen Bert, I use this banana to keep the alligators away”
“Ernie there are no alligators on Sesame Street”
“Right. It’s doing a good job then isn’t it Bert”
Like Ernie, those in Geneva wishing to avoid a return to snow, need to hope the Rösti Graben, like the banana, continues to confine the snow to the east.
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