Lake Geneva winds and weather
Updated 17.10.2026
Recognising the lake's winds, reading the orange lights and the forecast, and knowing when to head back.
A lake of winds
Between the Jura and the Alps, Lake Geneva has winds of its own: the bise, the most frequent wind, cold and dry in fair weather; the vent from the south-west, which brings bad weather; and a whole family of thunderstorm winds and breezes that change from one basin to the next. The steep relief of the shores speeds them up: a wind can hit the lake all at once.
The essentials
- Recognising the winds: Lake Geneva's winds, basin by basin.
- The orange lights: ≈ 40 flashes a minute, strong-wind warning (25 to 33 knots); ≈ 90, storm warning (over 33 knots) — thunderstorms and storm warnings.
- Reading the weather: forecast, stations, radar, currents — reading the lake weather.
With the Navleman map
The lakeside stations, the forecast wind, the named winds, the radar and the thunderstorm alert are in the app's Wind and weather menu.
Articles in this guide
- Lake Geneva's windsGeneral winds, thunderstorm winds and breezes: recognising the lake's winds, where they blow and what they foretell.
- Thunderstorms and storm warningsReading the orange lights, recognising thunderstorm winds and knowing when to head back.
- Reading the lake weatherForecast, measurements, radar: what each source tells you, what it doesn't, and in what order to look at them.