Swiss mountains in rain ? Any point going ? And 34 degrees heat wwyd?

[Rainyswissmountains]

Hugely (for us expensive holiday ) is there any point going in extreme heat 34 , no air con thunder and rain
The idea was three days in Switzerland and go up some mountains which is also v expensive.
I'm wondering whether to just call it off ,scary driving etc too hot to sleep and can't see anything up a mountain ?
We are flying into Basel so could go into France /Germany instead with better air con ? What would you do.

It is fine. Cable cars etc run in all but thunderstorms. Storms and rain showers tend to be short and sharp, just make sure you are dressed for the weather.

It will still be beautiful, atleast you hadn’t planned to camp!

It will not be 34 degrees at night if it’s raining during the day. Certainly not in the mountains, as soon as the sun sets you’ll get a lovely refreshing breeze.

The forecast might say rain for X day, but have you actually clicked on the day and looked at the hourly forecast?

My weather app (iPhone) will sum a day up as rainy even if the prediction is 40% chance for one hour. Chance of rain overrides the rest it seems, no matter how short.

It's two weeks away.
The hotel is v cheap and basic but costing (for us ) a fortune ! And it has one portable air con unit for two rooms so very basic.
The whole point was to see the mountains and go up them etc but there is a risk they are covered in mist and cloud.

I think you’ll be ok. Weather is very transient in the mountains and you’ll get cool breezes after the rain.

The Alps are gorgeous in the rain and mist! Like another world. It’s really difficult to predict weather in the mountains, especially in 2 weeks time.

Dress for the weather and go, you won’t regret it.

We get a lot of intense rain in short bursts over the summer. It’s actually quite glorious, and a welcome relief. Go and have an amazing time. Get yourself a cool towel and a hand fan as both are portable and light. Not sure where you get scary driving from? P.S. we also have excellent wines…

You won't be driving in Switzerland will you? The best way to get around is by train.

Motorways and mountain roads in torrential rain etc .
We had a wash out holiday two years ago and it was awful my life became about radiators and drying stuff.

@drspouse yes we are driving that's why I said scary driving 🙄

@raspberryrisotto non of us cope well in this heat and 34 is v hot. We already have fans and water spritzers etc ,hand held ones and mini desk fans.

It's such a lot of money we could either pivot to France /Freiburg cheaper but maybe hard to find accmd a week before or cancel the whole thing and try next year but base in Interlake etc

Why wouldn’t you go? Switzerland is stunning whatever the weather and you don’t need to drive, their public transport is great.

But why would you drive in Switzerland? Or do you mean you're driving there (but why?).
You will get to go more places if you get around by train. There's no need to roll your eyes at me, you obviously haven't been to Switzerland before so I was checking you knew.

They may not run in heavy rain/wind either - we were stuck at the top of a mountain 2 weeks ago for about an hour. No thunder in sight.

OP, I’d still go. The heat isn’t as oppressive and there is so much to do. We had a wonderful holiday during the heatwave. The weather forecast changed about eleventy billion times in the weeks leading up to it.

On driving, we drove to the Swiss Alps from the UK and it was a relatively easy drive. Make sure you get a Swiss highway pass (sfr40) as otherwise you will be fined.

But it won’t be like that all day every day. Forecasts this far ahead are not reliable, it changes so quickly, maybe all seasons in one day especially if you head up high, then different the next. Assume you will have a vignette so can use the very efficient motorway system if needs be,

Impossible to predict the weather in 2 weeks, especially in the mountains. Yes, it will probably rain a bit and be stormy, typical summer weather in the Alps. But also won't feel as hot as all that at the tops. Silly to cancel.

It's the eye watering sums we have never been on such an expensive holiday ! We could pivot to cheaper France and get nicer hotel with better air con.

I don’t understand this. You do know Interlaken (and everything else on this continent tbh) could also get rain in the summer?

You’re going into the mountains. Of course it will rain. It would be could strange and unlucky for it to rain nonstop over several days, but you will most likely get some rain and mist, yes.

It won’t rain when it’s 34 degrees outside. The Swiss mountains are not a tropical climate. Hot, humid and rainy at 30+ degrees happens in Singapore, not in Basel.

What are the minimums forecasted?

I think you are getting cold feet due to the prices, not the weather. Can your accommodation be cancelled free of charge? Book something on the French side of the border and cross into Switzerland on the sunny days for mountains.

My brother lives near Geneva. It’s been beautiful and sunny and occasionally rainy but so much more comfortable than the rest of Europe. His house near the mountains has no air con but it’s cool as a fridge even on 30+ days.

You clearly don’t want to go despite every other post telling you otherwise so don’t bother!

You don't want to go. Book for another year.

@ChiasMarineras at the moment this this week looks like solid rain all day every day and thunder storms ,the following week looks v similar.
We have had extreme weather Havant we across Europe so it's not normal weather at the moment.

It won’t be 34 degrees up the mountain and it won’t be 34 degrees at night. It’s also normal to get mist and rain on a daily basis in the Alps, it’s actually very cool to be in the mountains with the mist swirling around you and suddenly a break in the clouds. Thunderstorms are normal too.

Yes it’ll probably rain (a bit) - the forecast will be unreliable this far ahead though
Yes, it might be warm (it’s summer) but it cools down at night
Yes, the roads aren’t straight - you do want to visit the mountains, right?!

You seem to have talked yourself out of enjoying this holiday already. If you can cancel it without forfeiting any money and rebook something that you’re more comfortable with I would do that. But get on with it as there’ll be fewer and fewer options the longer you leave it

Also our hotel people say is hot.
If we knew our hotel had decent air con then at least you know you can get a decent sleep but hotels with air con proper were even more ££ so we chose as low as possible with portable air con .