Weather warning: Snow and ice in the north, heavy rain in the southeast
From for
The situation
France is at the center of an air mass conflict between mild ocean air and cold Scandinavian air. Concerns from the Atlantic cross the country. Colliding with cold air, they cause episodes of snow or freezing rain north of the Loire. A second disturbance has been spreading from Brittany to the Great East since tonight, with a possible extension in Brittany until Thursday morning. It will bring an episode of snow in the northern part of the disturbed area and freezing rain in the southern part. The Loire axis globally separates the cold zone in the north and the rainy melt in the south.
Features of this snow and sleet episode include:
– 1 to 5cm of snow in the plains with more snow from central Brittany to the Normandy hills and 5 to 10cm in Lorraine, locally 15cm.
– freezing rain with sub-zero temperatures iced roads from inland Brittany to northern Burgundy, northern Pays de la Loire and southern Paris Basin.
A significant rain-stormy episode in southeastern France will generalize throughout the southeastern quarter of the country on Thursday and end on Friday morning. Accumulations of 30-50 mm of rain are forecast, with a maximum of 80-100 mm over eastern Herault, Gard, Var and especially western Corsica.
Observation
This Wednesday:
An improvement over Normandy and Ile-de-France was evident with the return of the pale winter sun in the afternoon. With the temperature close to 0°C, snow continued on the ground, but the thickness did not exceed 0.5-3 cm. On the other hand, freezing rain affected the department of Belfort and Haut-Rhin, while continuous snowfall continued in the north of Lorraine. Elsewhere, there are reports of icy roads in Champagne and Lorraine, although there is no more snow.
At 09:00, light snow continued to fall from Normandy to Picardy, north of Paris and north of Champagne and Lorraine with sub-zero temperatures. A total of 1-3 cm is maximum, but accumulations will thicken in the Vosges and northern Lorraine.
Note the freezing rain in the south of these regions, from Sarthe to Beauce and especially between Paris and Orleans, and from Loiret to Seine-et-Marne, Marne, Haute-Marne, Haute-Saone and the southern half. Alsace (freezing rain in Colmar and snow in Strasbourg).
at 06:30, Very little snow fell in Île-de-France, and the slightly subzero temperatures (0° to -1°C) resulted in a dusting of the ground. In Lower Normandy, the snowfall was a little more noticeable, with a bleached landscape and even on the beaches (Deauville, Ouistreham) between 1 and 3 cm.
In the south, ice is reported between the departments of Eure-et-Loire, Loiret (Orléans), Yonne and Aube.
In Brittany, light drizzle mixed with melted snow was observed at 0° in Dinard and +1° in Rennes, caution is required on secondary roads due to the risk of icing.
Evolution
Here’s a timeline of this winter’s bad weather
During the afternoon, snow remained in northern Lorraine and Alsace, while freezing rain affected Haut-Rhin and Belfort. Limit your travels and take extra care if you drive on the Grand Est, as no thaw is expected this Wednesday, or even before 10 a.m. Thursday. On the other hand, you will be able to cycle this afternoon and this evening in the Doubs and Territoire de Belfort (except for the terrain) thanks to the “melting”, but be careful tonight because the ice will reform.
In Brittany and Pays de la Loire, New rains are coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. Rain mixed with snow may occur in northern Côtes-d’Armor and locally in Ile-et-Villan with a risk of icing. However, a slightly positive temperature lowers this risk.
This Wednesday afternoon, there will be lighter snow from Lorraine to Alsace, with freezing rain in the south of these regions. In the second part of the day, a certain calm is maintained from Ile-de-France to Champagne until new snow falls. After a brief lull in Normandy in the afternoon, there will be snow or freezing rain from the west.
Late afternoon and evening, southern Bas-Normandy, Maine, snowing between Beauce and southern Ile-de-France. This snowfield again moves eastward into northern Burgundy and Lorraine.
at night, the snow is thinning and stopping everywhere, but roads may remain icy on the secondary network due to falling temperatures and a general frost from the Loire north to Alsace.
We are watching Brittany: a new Atlantic disturbance is approaching and will affect Finistere and Morbihan. This evolution remains unreliable for the time being: there may be snow and sleet, with a risk of snow on the ground, which we will confirm in the next updates of this bulletin.
Thursday morning, the risk of snow and freezing rain will continue in the northwest. Therefore, this special issue will be extended until Thursday afternoon. Elsewhere, dry cold returns, but wet roads may become generally icy.
Features of this snow and sleet episode include:
– 1 to 5 cm of snow in the plains from central Brittany to the hills of Normandy and 5 to 10 cm more in Lorraine.
– icy roads from inland Brittany to northern Burgundy, north of the Pays de la Loire and south of the Paris basin.
– traffic conditions that can be difficult, especially on an uncleaned secondary network.
in the south-east of France, the rainy-stormy episode observed in the entire southeastern quarter of the country on Thursday will end on Friday morning. A maximum of 80 to 100 mm of rain is forecast over eastern Herault, Gard, Var and especially western Corsica.
