A person walks their bike through the snow in the Swiss canton of Zurich.
© Robert RuggieroA person walks their bike through the snow in the Swiss canton of Zurich.
Swiss residents going through the latter stages of March, with its sunny skies and 'Sahara dust' would have been forgiven for thinking the time was right to put the winter jacket away.

However, winter-like weather is back in Switzerland, having swept across the country as March turned into April.

Around 50cm of snow fell on parts of Switzerland over the past few days, bringing with it unseasonably cold temperatures to wipe out the springlike weather of late March.

Swiss meteorological service MeteoNews reported that the snowfall brought welcome relief, particularly in central and lower Valais, in parts of Ticino and in most of Graubünden, cutting the risks of forest fires.



This week temperatures are expected to rise but only slightly, with MeteoNews forecasting between 7 and 10 degrees and rain through Tuesday.

Wednesday should be sunny and about 13 degrees, followed by changeable and windy weather in the second half of the week.

After that, temperatures should continue to increase, with 20 degrees forecast for much of the country from mid-April onwards.

It is too early to forecast with certainty what the weather will be like over Easter, but we will keep you posted!

You can follow the forecast for your area here.