Thunderstorm-rich summer

This year's summer was marked by a lot of rain and storms. According to MeteoNews, almost 440,000 lightning bolts were counted in Switzerland.

According to MeteoNews, highest lightning density this summer extended over the area from the Entlebuch region to North-eastern Switzerland. This also corresponds to the direction of a number of violent thunderstorms. In the purple-coloured areas on the map, more than 30 lightning bolts per square kilometre were discharged during the meteorological summer, from June 1 to August 31, as PilatusToday  writes.

Screenshot: MeteoNews Ubimet: Lightning strikes from 1st June to 31st August 2021

The canton of Zug is one of the cantons with the highest lightning density. Around 33 lightning strikes per square kilometre struck Zug. The canton of Thurgau tops this ranking, where there were 35 lightning strikes per square kilometre.

MeteoNews reports that there were more than 30,000 lightning strikes in the canton of Lucerne from June to August – and this on only 35 of a possible 92 days. The strongest lightning occurred on August 11 in Hasle in Entlebuch, with a strength of 230.90 kiloamperes.

On the other hand, comparatively low lightning densities were recorded this summer in the Lake Geneva region, Valais, Uri and other  parts of the region. The same applies to Graubünden and the southern parts of the cantons of Vaud and Bern.