The southern side of the Alps can look back on a very mild February. Locarno Monti recorded one of the warmest Februarys since records began, with 7.6 °C, and Lugano with 6.9 °C. These values are around 2 to 2.5 °C above the 1991-2020 norm. In Locarno-Monti it was the fifth February in a row with high temperatures, and in Lugano the fourth. In the Engadin, Segl-Maria reported one of the warmest Februarys since records began, with 3.1 °C above the norm. All of the series of measurements mentioned go back well over 100 years.
Line graph showing February temperature in Locarno Monti.
Fig. 1: The February temperature in Locarno Monti since measurements began in 1883. The red dot shows the current February (7.6 °C). The green dashed line shows the 1991−2020 norm (5.2 °C), the red line the 20-year moving average.
In the low-lying areas north of the Alps, the February temperature rose by 1.5 to almost 2 °C above the 1991–2020 norm. The national average February temperature was 2.1 °C above the 1991–2020 norm.
Line graph showing February temperatures in Switzerland
Fig. 2: The February temperature in Switzerland since measurements began in 1864. The red dot shows the current February (0.2 °C). The green dashed line shows the 1991−2020 norm (-1.9 °C), the red line the 20-year moving average.
Long sunny period
On the southern side of the Alps, in the Engadine and in the Valais, the sun shone almost non-stop from February 1 to 21. On the northern side of the Alps, there was plenty of sunshine from February 7 to 21. The first days of February were mostly cloudy with some precipitation. Snow fell above 700 to 1000 m.
Locally sunniest February
The long sunny period led to an above-average sunny February in most areas. In western Switzerland in particular, the duration of sunshine regionally reached 160 to almost 180% of the 1991-2020 norm. In Geneva, with 179% of the norm, it was the sunniest February since measurements began in 1897.
Very mild in the south with north foehn
The beginning of the month was very mild on the southern side of the Alps. With a sri lanka phone number library strong northerly foehn, daily maximum temperatures rose to 17 to 20 °C from 2 to 4 February. The 1991-2020 norm for daily maximum temperatures at the beginning of February is around 8 °C in Locarno Monti or Lugano.
The average daily temperature on February 4th reached 15.6 °C (11.5 °C above normal) in Lugano and 15.2 °C (11 °C above normal) in Locarno Monti. In Lugano this was the second highest temperature in February and in Locarno Monti the fourth highest since measurements began in the 19th century. Average daily temperatures of 15 to 16 °C are typical for the first third of May in Locarno Monti or Lugano.
The north foehn blew locally with high gusts. On February 3rd it reached 113 km/h in Poschiavo, and on February 4th it reached 92 km/h in Grono. In Poschiavo it was the highest February value in the series of measurements available since 1981.
Long mild period
From February 6 to 10, cold air flowed into Switzerland from the north and northeast. On February 11, an extensive high-pressure area settled over western and central Europe. There was a significant warming in the mountains and in the south. On the Weissfluhjoch at an what are broken links on a website, how to find them and fix the problem altitude of 2,691 m, the daily maximum temperatures reached over 3 °C. The 1991-2020 norm here is -6 °C in mid-February.
From February 16, the warmth also reached the lower areas of the northern side of the Alps, alb directory with spring-like daily highs of 15 to 17 °C. In the south, highs reached 15 to just over 16 °C. The mild conditions lasted until February 24. From February 22, mild, moist air reached Switzerland from the southwest.
Little precipitation
From February 6 to February 21, there was no precipitation in Switzerland. In Valais and on the southern side of the Alps, there was no precipitation at several measuring locations, and on the northern side of the Alps there were no precipitation at certain measuring locations from February 1 to February 23.
