Possible tornado kills 1 in Switzerland
At least one person has died in Switzerland following a violent storm that swept through central Europe on Monday.
Strong winds tore through the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, located in the northwestern part of the country, on Monday morning, where the storm "unfortunately caused the death of a person in their fifties following the fall of a building crane," Neuchâtel local police said in a press release.
In addition to the death, around 15 other people were injured and were treated by the emergency services. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
A wind gust of about 135 mph (217 km/h) was recorded at the Swiss weather service's station at La Chaux-de-Fonds Monday morning "under a thunderstorm cell that suddenly strengthened as it reached the region," MétéoSuisse said on Twitter.
The country's weather service later said that a probable tornado associated with a rapidly developing storm cell along the Jura Mountains hit the town, causing violent gusts of wind and significant damage. Photos of the area following the storm showed significant roof damage.
Point dans le #blogmeteosuisse du jour sur l'#orage dévastateur qui a balayé le Locle et la Chaux-de-Fonds ce lundi matin. A ce stade, une enquête météorologique complète sur le terrain est nécessaire pour déterminer l'origine des #rafales tempétueuses : https://t.co/lUEVoDjNT6 pic.twitter.com/RPAJUCY1Yw
— MétéoSuisse (@meteosuisse) July 24, 2023
The same storm delivered rounds of damaging hail to parts of northern Italy, producing hailstones nearly as large as softballs in some places.
"A strong front pushing through Europe led to the outbreak," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said. "The clash in air masses contributed to the intensity by enhancing instability."
Hailstones of up to 3.5 inches (9 cm) in diameter fell in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the northeastern region of Italy that borders Slovenia. The European Service Weather Database noted the hail was large enough to potentially damage roofs, chimneys, windows, insulation layers and cars.
Some of the largest hail fell over Belsko and Sveto, Slovenia, where a hailstone nearly 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter fell.
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