This study aims at establishing a high-resolution climatology of extreme winds over Switzerland using a numerical modelling approach. The basic model is the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM; Caya and Laprise, 1999) to which is applied a new windgust parameterisation (Brasseur, 2001; Goyette et al., 2003). This model has previously shown genuine skill in downscaling a number of observed windstorms over Western Europe using the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis as driving data (e.g. Goyette et al., 2001). As input data, this study uses the simulated outputs of the UK HADLEY Center's HADCM3 coupled ocean-atmosphere global model - available in the EU 5th Framework Program “PRUDENCE” project (Christensen et al., 2002)- for the 1961-1990 period. Using the multiple self-nesting procedure of the CRCM, a number of storms are downscaled at 2 km over Switzerland. The preliminary analysis of ten windstorms is very encouraging: the potential areas which experienced severe winds agree well with observations. Most of the severe winds episodes are embedded in westerly flows; however observations show that strong winds may also be generated by southerly and northerly type of flows. These results thus prompt the need for further storm investigation to encompass the largest portion of potential extreme wind cases since the ultimate goal is to assess the change in the behaviour of extreme winds under climate changes based on the IPCC A2 greenhouse-gas emission scenario.