Tornado-like superstorm batters Swiss town

Policemen and firefighters work by a fallen crane. © Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

A violent storm swept through the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in northwestern Switzerland on Monday, killing one person and injuring around 15 people, according to the police.

The storm “unfortunately caused the death of a person in his fifties following the fall of a construction crane,” Neuchâtel cantonal police said in a press release.

“In addition to this victim, around 15 people were injured and treated by the emergency services, but their prognosis was not life-threatening,” they added.

Torn out industrial buildings are pictured after violent storm. © Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

The storm did not last long, but the strong gusts of up to 217km/h caused considerable damage. Vehicles were damaged, roofs torn off and trees uprooted. The rail network and bus services were also affected. Rescue and clearing operations are continuing. 

Unusual circumstances

According to MeteoSwiss, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, the weather phenomenon that swept through La Chaux-de-Fonds on Monday cannot be described as a tornado. Rather, it was a case of “very violent swirling gusts of wind”, possibly reinforced by the town’s urban layout. Such a phenomenon is very difficult to predict, according to the meteorologists.

A house with its roof torn off. © Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

Nicolas Borgognon of MeteoSwiss believes that the topography of the La Chaux-de-Fonds region and the town’s “American-style” grid structure may have increased the violence of the phenomenon.

“This may have created a ‘Venturi effect’, meaning that the gusts of wind are channelled and compressed between the buildings, so that their effect is stronger,” he said.

The storm lasted around five minutes, with a peak intensity of one to two minutes, he explained. “We’ll need to do a re-analysis of the phenomenon, particularly using video and aerial photos and drones to understand what caused it and why it was so strong.”

Trees uprooted during the storm. © Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

No one seemed to have anticipated the 217km/h gusts recorded at nearby Les Eplatures airport located on the south-west edge of La Chaux-de-Fonds.

If the measurement is confirmed internally by MeteoSwiss, it would constitute a new Swiss record, since the strongest thunderstorm gust ever recorded on a Swiss plain was measured at 190km/h in Glarus in 1985.

Torn out industrial buildings. © Keystone / Valentin Flauraud