Switzerland was swept by strong winds overnight from Monday to Tuesday. Storm gusts from Petra surpassed 150 km / h in places, but the damage remained moderate.
Spikes at 153 km / h were recorded at Chasseral (BE) when they reached 152 km / h at Hörnli in the canton of Zurich. The Moléson (FR) was meanwhile swept by gusts at 146 km / h, according to the MétéoSuisse website. The Attelas (VS), La Dôle (VD), the Col des Mosses (VD), the Titlis (OW), the Säntis (AI) as well as the Uetliberg (ZH) also experienced gusts exceeding 100 km / h .
MeteoNews recorded the strongest gusts at the summits of Bantiger and Napf with 171 km / h, respectively in the Emmental and the canton of Lucerne. MeteoSwiss had issued a grade 3 warning for the whole of Switzerland due to the gusts of wind, a considerable level of danger.
Strong winds caused five road accidents. Two in Zurich, one in Bern, one in St. Gallen and one in Valais. No one was injured.
Power outages
In the canton of Bern, the cantonal police tweeted that they had received around 110 announcements relating to the storm. Most of them concerned fallen trees, but a person was also transported to hospital following a car accident.
The electrician BKW has announced that 12,000 of its customers in the Bernese Oberland, Emmental and the canton of Jura have been affected by power cuts. Six hundred customers were still impacted Tuesday at 10:30 am.
In Valais, a motorist hit a rock that fell on the road in Salvan. In total, the canton’s intervention center was contacted six times.
In the Vaud Alps, three lines were interrupted. Fallen trees disrupted traffic between Aigle and Le Sépey in the morning, between Bévieux and Gryon and between Montbovon (FR) and Rossinière (VD). On these three lines, delays and deletions were to be expected.
Elsewhere in French-speaking Switzerland, there has been no disruption to the SBB network or damage to the tracks caused by the strong night winds, a CFF spokesperson told Keystone-ATS. The line of the Jura Railways was however cut between Glovelier and Saignelégier because of a tree fallen on the rails.
Uprooted trees
Eole has also caused numerous uprootings. Vaud police have reported around fifteen trees uprooted and fallen on the road in the canton, particularly in Chablais, but also in Yverdon. There were no injuries, said a spokeswoman for the cantonal police.
In Geneva, the Fire and Rescue Service (SIS) intervened six times, mainly between 3:45 am and 4:00 am. The firefighters notably secured scaffolding and evacuated a small tree that had fallen on the road in Bellevue (GE). There was no major damage, according to SIS.
On Lake Geneva, the round-trip route of the CGN N2 line between Lausanne-Ouchy and Thonon-les-Bains was suspended 3 hours between the first departure at 4:40 am and until 7:40 am, Keystone explained- ATS a spokesperson for the General Navigation Company (CGN).
The storm has roughly generated the same effects overseas. Police in Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne and the canton of Thurgau were heavily requested for material damage and falling trees.
