Weather woes in the Bernese oberland

I am meant to be training to the Bernese overland tomorrow for five days. However,I have just looked at the weather forecast and it looks like it's going to rain the whole time. I really wanted to go up the jungfrau but I understand that that isn't worth it if the weather is horrid. What should I do? Stay in Austria? Try somewhere else in Switzerland? Help!

Hello KristaJ,

I just spent 3,5 weeks in the Bernese Oberland. We checked the weather forecasts every morning and every afternoon, on the internet and television. We found that the most reliable weather forecast site is www.sf1.meto.ch, they were right most of the times. Furthermore: it can also be possible that the weather at the Jungfrau is beautiful while it's raining in the valley. So what do to? I wish I could give you a better answer. Perhaps the site I mentioned can help you? There's also www.meteoschweiz.ch, and you can try this, but I would opt for the first site.
(And of course this is not of any help, but we found that the weather was always better than expected. But of course that does not give you any guarantees!)

Wishing you good luck and much sun,

Olga

Hi KristaJ. Indeed, it's very hard to give good advice in this case. If weather is bad at the Jungfraujoch, it would be a waste of your money to go up there. The views are fantastic and it would be too bad to miss out on them because of fog and clouds. But local circumstances may change very quickly and the weather may in fact be a lot better than predicted. Weather forecasts should be as recent and local as possible to give a reliable prediction. I'd recommend the SF1 website, mentioned by Olga, as well.

On the other hand, you mention that you'll be in Switzerland for 5 days. Chances of a good weather break within these 5 days are reasonably large (again, even if forecasts for the entire country seem to be bad). I checked your previous messages and I understand that you've planned some rail journeys and that you own a Swiss Card. This provides lots of opportunities for you. You can check weather forecasts each day and then decide what you're going to do. It's quite easy to travel to parts of the country where the weather seems to be best. For example, weather on the southern side of the alps (in the cantons of Wallis and Tessin) is often better than on the northern side. From Kandersteg, Brig in Wallis can easily be reached by a short tunnel train ride. You've also planned some travels in the directions of Lucerne and Geneva, if I'm correct. Train journeys can be wonderful if it's a bit cloudy or rainy as well, especially if some sun is involved every now and then. In fact, there still seems to be quite some sun the next week, according to SF1. So one way to look at it is this: it might be a pity to cancel the entire trip only because your Jungfraujoch visit may not take place. You could opt for another resort as well, maybe in the south of the country. Zermatt and its surroundings are well-known and have the reputation of being one of Switzerland's prettiest alpine regions.

Still, you're the only one who can decide what to do. I'm not sure if you'll have another change of visiting Switzerland in the short term. If not, you might take into account that Switzerland is very pretty even if weather isnt't that great. There are no weather guarantees. Rainy days (and even weeks!) can occur in high summer as well. I hope you'll be able to decide what to do!

Apologies for the hysterics. I was just so disappointed. I am changing my plans somewhat, and will stay in interlaken instead of heading into wengen, so as to give myself more day trip options. Thanks for calming me down!

With 5 days, you should get at least 1 or 2 days of good weather. If it drizzy, perhaps you can go Lauterbrunnen for the waterfalls or Lake Brienz Cruise.

For my last trip to Bernese Oberland, I allocate 3 days for good weather excursion. The first 2 days was cloudy can't go Schilthorn or Jungfrau. I took the Golden Pass Express to Montreux. Have a cruise on Lake Geneva and spend hours at Swiss Vapeur Parc, Le Bouveret. It was sunny there.

The last day, I manage to get good weather for Jungfrau.