The most snow fell in the Gotthard region, according to SRF Meteo, the German-language national broadcaster's weather service.
Snowfall in the mountains in early September is quite normal, said Sabine Balmer from SRF Meteo. It can even snow down to 1,500 metres during July and August. But such early snow has become increasingly rare in recent years, she added.
Up to half a metre of snow fell above 2,000 metres elevation, whereas lower down, the Alpine resorts of Andermatt and Sedrun were covered in white on Friday morning.
Ein erster #Wintergruss aus den Bergen. In der #Surselva schneite es ebenfalls vorübergehend bis ins Tal. ☃️ #Schneejuhee #Schneeoje 🤔^sba pic.twitter.com/AQDaw2lKAd
— SRF Meteo (@srfmeteo) September 6, 2019
WOW.... Huge amounts of fresh #snow at Canton of Uri at 2100m elevation in Switzerland yesterday morning 6th of September . Source: @MeteoNewsAG #snowfall #severeweather pic.twitter.com/hO4AtB1t8n
— WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) September 7, 2019
Grüsse aus Andermatt @meteoschweiz @srfmeteo pic.twitter.com/tu9iKd6LxX
— Pascal Schär (@Pascal_Schaer) September 6, 2019
Some mountain passes were disrupted Friday morning due to the snow, including the Nufenen pass in southern Switzerland, the Susten, Furka and Grimsel passes in central Switzerland, and the San Bernadino which links eastern Switzerland and Ticino.
Italian-speaking Ticino had to contend with strong rainfall and stormy conditions on Thursday. These conditions have reached into parts of southeastern Graubünden, and French-speaking Valais, SRF reports. Several roads are closed due to the risk of landslides.
Comment: September snowfall begins in the Austrian and Italian Alps