We are slowly getting used to it, especially after the record year 2022. But the temperatures in January 2023 continue to surprise. The first days of the year set new records – and there is still no sign of a significant change.
Due to a fairly strong wind, there were unusually high temperatures at the turn of the year, especially in the Alps. According to the weather service Meteonews, new January records have been set in twelve places.
In Delsberg/Delémont in the canton of Jura, 20.2 degrees were measured – the highest temperature ever recorded on a day in January.
But there were not only records in terms of maximum values, new maximum minimum temperatures were also recorded. This means that there have never been such high daily lows measured at eleven weather stations in one day in January. The minimum temperature in Andermatt (1437 meters above sea level) was 5.3 degrees, in Bad Ragaz 12.4 degrees and in Chur the thermometer dropped just below ten degrees – all new record values.
On January 3, a cold front reached Switzerland and brought slightly cooler air into the Alpine region. Still, there can be no question of “winter” in the coming days, writes Meteonews.
There will be a lot of precipitation again on Thursday, but temperatures will remain around 12 degrees. So there is no snow far above, the snow line is 1700 to 2000 meters.
High fog is expected in the lowlands on Friday. Above 1200 to 1700 meters it is nice – but also warm. That does not bode well for the Alps, because the zero degree line is extremely high at 2,600 to 2,900 meters.
The foehn finally returns at the weekend and on Saturday we will again have temperatures of around twelve degrees. After that it will be a bit cooler and on Sunday and Monday the snow line will drop to 1500 and 1000 meters respectively. Thanks to the predicted precipitation, it should then become a bit whiter in the Alpine regions.
And then? keep it soft: According to MeteoSwiss, a low in the British Isles next week is likely to cause unsettled weather – and maximum temperatures of up to ten degrees.
But what does the general weather situation actually look like? Why did the really cold winter visit us very early (early December) for a short time – but then left again until today?
The reason for this is the so-called polar vortex. As Meteonews writes, this is currently in “real top shape”. But what exactly is the polar vortex?
In the respective winter months, a so-called high-altitude low occurs alternately every year over the poles. This means that the air at high altitudes is extremely cold. This is because in the winter months at the poles, sunlight no longer reaches the high latitudes. As a result, the exchange of air masses only takes place to a limited extent.
As a result, a forceful body of cold air that is normally closed can form. The air is closed off by a strong jet stream, the polar jet stream.
If the situation is as in the photo on the left, then there is a strong westerly wind here. As Meteonews further explains, this flow may include storm fronts “typically moving from the North Atlantic across the British Isles into Scandinavia.” If such storm lows occasionally occur a little further south, they could bring winter storms here as well.
Such a situation, with a strong jet stream and ‘stuck’ cold air above the North Pole, manifests itself in the form of a fairly mild winter with a lot of precipitation. And that is exactly the case at the moment.
Although it is very mild at our latitudes, the trapped cold air over the North Pole is expressed in the form of record-breaking minus temperatures: as Meteonews reports, temperatures in the center of the polar vortex (at an altitude of about 30 kilometers) are sometimes between – 85 and -90 degrees. That’s in the range of all-time records.
no So there should be a so-called “wave break” around mid-January. The polar vortex is distorted slightly and is pushed partly south as a result. However, according to current models, there will be no real disturbance or even a so-called splitting of the polar vortex, which would bring cold air to our latitudes.
Nevertheless, the polar vortex will weaken somewhat in the last third of January. As a result, the temperature contrasts between our latitudes and the polar region decrease slightly. However, there is no reversal – which can lead to extremely cold temperatures here.
With a strong polar vortex, the jet stream is usually well developed above our latitudes. If the jet stream is strong, as it is now, dynamic – ie changeable, unstable – weather prevails here. At the moment there is even a “similar situation to February 2022, when winter storms like Zeynep made headlines,” writes Meteonews. At its current status, Switzerland should be only marginally affected by these storm lows.
In the near future, these low-pressure systems will lead to falling snow levels in some cases – but we still have to be patient for a prolonged onset of winter.
Source: Blick
I am Ross William, a passionate and experienced news writer with more than four years of experience in the writing industry. I have been working as an author for 24 Instant News Reporters covering the Trending section. With a keen eye for detail, I am able to find stories that capture people’s interest and help them stay informed.
