Hi all! First of all, this forum is so helpful and has been instrumental to us planning our trip! Big thanks to all who take the time to respond. My husband and I leave Texas tomorrow to fly to Zurich. We will be in Luzern for 3 days then Mürren for 4 days with our trip ending in Lake Como, we will fly out of Milan). I have been watching the weather and am devastated. Looks like lots of rain and clouds, and I don’t know if we’ll even be able to see the alps. Can anyone touch on weather in these parts? If it says 80% chance of rain could this mean a quick shower or that the day is shot? Just trying to adjust my expectations. I don’t know when we’ll be back to Switzerland so the weather has us pretty bummed out. Most of our plans in Luzern and Murren involve hiking/activities in the mountains. Does anyone have good rainy day activity suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Laura
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
Most likely just short showers in the afternoon. I've seldom encountered day-long rain events there at this time of year, but it's not out of the question. In 7 days you will surely have at least a few days with nice weather.
Posted by
Reno, Nevada
1025 posts
The Weather Channel is a worldwide service as is weather.com, and truthfully, no one can predict the weather with any degree of accuracy unless they have meteorological expertise and tons of expensive equipment. This is especially true in the mountainous areas of the world. Pack some rain gear, maybe a small bottle of schnapps, and your sense of humor. After all, vacations are about adventure.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Weather, since we cannot do anything about it, is generally low on our worry list. We take the appropriate gear and live with what we have. Our general experience with rain in the mountains is that it is showers. Rarely, but can happen, will you encounter all day drizzle or total clouds, or continuous rain. Life is much better if you are flexible and adjustable. You really don't have a choice.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
Before I travel, I add the cities being traveled to on my Accuweather. You can see weather day by day in the future, current radars and the temperatures in Fahrenheit. And it's all over the world.
Having weather available ahead of time lets me figure out how to pack and dress.
Posted by
Kansas City
272 posts
We were there in May and the weather forecast was similar. We had some rain but also some beautiful days. Bring a rain jacket, and we like to carry an umbrella. On Rick’s advice, we went up the Schilthorn from Mürren on the first clear morning. On a cloudy or rainy day, you can still do some walks like the Lauterbrunnen Valley floor including the waterfalls. My daughters went up Mt. Pilatus and to the Jungfraujoch in less than ideal weather and were glad they did. Only you can decide if it’s worth it for you. You are wise to spend 4 days in Mürren. That will give you a better chance to take advantage of good weather.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Get the meteoblue app on your phone for more accurate weather forecasts. Weather.com and accuweather are not the best source for accurate predictions.
Posted by
Missouri
94 posts
We just returned from 3 weeks in Switzerland. When I checked the forecast before we left, it showed rain every day for 2 weeks straight! Yikes, I also got bummed out. Don’t panic.
Once we got to Luzern, it was sunny and in the 80’s for 4 days. We also had sunny days in Lugano and Lausanne. Our first trek to a mountain area was rainy and we did have some clouds and some light showers on a few days. We also had days of full sun in the mountains. Yay. We spent most of our mountain time in Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Grindelwald areas.
So the long term forecast was only accurate some of the time. Plan your days as you go. When there are bright sky’s take advantage and go! Mornings were usually less cloudy than afternoons. Watch the web cams on the tv that show the main peaks. We adjusted plans depending on where it showed the best weather.
Enjoy!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Krauss, I must ask, where did you get this forecast from?
You posted this Yesterday (Friday 28th June). I am in Switzerland, It is Saturday 29th June. Since the beginning of the week we have been having the first heat wave of the summer. Today was (and still is) HOT: 34°C, not a cloud all day.
In yesterday's paper I was reading complaints about the air conditioning in trains being inadequate; and trains delayed because the heat deformed tracks. I have just been watching the evening TV news, with a section on the heatwave accelerating glacier melting
And the weather forecast is 37° for tomorrow (Sunday).
See here for Swiss TV weather forecast: https://www.srf.ch/meteo
Tuesday cooling down to 27°, still hot for hiking. I would not trust a forecast more than 5 days in the future.
And "80% chance of rain" means 80% chance of some rain at some time during the day.