Weather: Snow accumulates this week in France, details by region

A significant snow episode is hitting France this week. Many departments are affected, an orange alert has been announced by Météo France.

The cold is returning to France this week and snow is expected to fall this Thursday in several regions in the north of the country. In a bulletin published This Wednesday, November 20, Météo-France announced the placement of 28 departments on orange alert due to a risk of snowfall and ice formation.

The departments concerned are: Côtes d'Armor, Ile-et-Villaine, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne, Mayenne, Sarthe, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret. these are added to those that make up the Ile-de-France, but also the Aube, the Yonne, the Haute-Marne, the Côte-d'Or, the Vosges, the Haute-Saône, the Doubs, the Territoire de Belfort and the Haut-Rhin.

According to information from La chaîne météo, the snowfalls extend this Thursday from inland Brittany to the south of Normandy, towards Maine, Beauce, the Centre region, the south of the Paris basin, to slide during the afternoon towards the centre-east, on the border of Franche-Comté and the south of Alsace. On the side of the Ile de France, nothing is sure, even if a few flakes should be seen. qlGWIYo_WQVei3j7z-7kl6wQVw=/1080x/smart/405116318d8c42a384c7a19aa6604f9b/ccmcms-linternaute/67934852.jpg” /> © The weather channel

&As of this Wednesday, a clear cooling of temperatures was felt due to the formation of an air mass close to -35°C at an altitude of 5000 m according to Keraunos, the tornado and violent storm observatory. This deterioration is due to a new oceanic disturbance, causing the collision of mild and humic air at cold air already in place. 

La Chaîne Météo explains that a very deep depression named Caetano is arriving in the morning this Thursday over Brittany and crossing France from west to east. The institute even gives details by region: “The depression is associated with a significant conflict between mild Atlantic air and much colder air present over northern France. When these two air masses come into contact, precipitation is intense and occurs in the form of snow from northern Brittany and Normandy to Burgundy-Franche-Comté, passing through the Centre-Val de Loire, the Ile-de-France and the south of the Grand Est region,” explains the specialist media.

And so the snow appears, it is a white blanket that forms over a large area:  "Due to the intensity of precipitation and temperatures between 0 and 2°C, the snow easily sticks to the ground on the plains and plateaus above 150 m altitude with 3 to 8 cm and locally 10 cm above 300 meters. The hold is more difficult in the valleys and highly urbanized areas with 1 to 3 cm. This snow will often be accompanied by gusts of wind and the driving conditions could be difficult, especially on the secondary network,” indicates La Chaine Météo.

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Despite everything, the situation remains complex to predict for the end of the week: even if the digital models were able to anticipate the risk of a “rainy-snowy” episode for Thursday, it is difficult to determine the precise trajectory of this depression coming straight from the Atlantic. This is why the digital models cannot state with certainty that snowflakes will fall in the regions located the extreme of this phenomenon, which is the case in the Île-de-France.

Latest updates

17:15 – Snowfall expected at midday in the Île-de-France

Météo-France has placed Ile-de-France on orange alert for snow and ice from 11am this Thursday. Eight departments are affected: Paris (75), Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Essonne (91), Hauts-de-Seine (92), Seine-Saint-Denis (93), Val-de-Marne (94) and Val-d'Oise (95). These snowfalls will start in the west of the region: “The intensity is low, the precipitation is intermittent in the north and more continuous towards the south of the region”, specifies the official meteorology and climatology service in France. Even if the snow's stability on the ground remains “uncertain” given the still warm ground, black ice is expected during the night of Thursday at Friday. Météo-France still anticipates difficult driving conditions due to the 1 to 3 cm of snow on the ground expected locally and the 4 to 7 cm expected in the south of the region (south of Yvelines and south Essonne). La Chaîne Mét&eacuteo recommends staying at home until Friday if you can. not to move. 

16:13 – Up to 5 or 10 cm of snow in Brittany

Rennes, Brest, Saint-Brieuc… These cities are all affected by the snowstorm forecast for Thursday. From dawn, a white blanket will cover the north of Brittany. In the south, violent winds reaching 120 km/h will be present on the coasts of Morbihan. For Steven Tual, meteorologist and creator of “Temps Breton”, this “spectacular climatic episode” is not in doubt: “Snow ? Thursday, it is now 100% certain”. Several departments in the region have already been placed under orange alert by Météo-France. Indeed, over a large part of central Brittany and the east of the region, 2 to 5 cm of snow are expected: “The snow zone will start at the border of the Monts d'Arrée and will extend to Rennes,” he explains to France 3 Régions. But the majority snowfall is expected to fall on Fougères and there, we could reach “10 cm of snow on the ground”, specifies the meteorologist.