The final day of France’s ‘cold spell’ has seen temperatures stay below 0C in many areas of the north, and seen the south experience a rare second day of snowfall.
Snow fell as far south as the Tarn department yesterday (January 11), with up to 10cm falling in many parts of Occitanie.
The snowfall is set to “last until late Thursday afternoon” in the south, said Météo France, although it will only be “at a low-level” and not comparable to what was seen yesterday, or at the beginning of the week in Normandy.
What is the current situation?
Many weather warnings are in place, with five departments on tier-three orange alert for snowy/icy road conditions.
These are: Hérault, Tarn, Aveyron, Lozère, and Aude.
Many other departments are on tier-two yellow alert, with the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments in particular still facing heightened flood warnings.
You can keep up to date with all warnings on the Météo Francewebsite. Note that these warnings are likely to be updated throughout the day.
End of the cold weather
Despite the snowfall, temperatures are warmer than at the beginning of the week, when cold gales buffeted France.
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Temperatures in the south were around 0C in the morning – higher near the Mediterranean – but will rise by this afternoon to around 4C (Bordeaux, Toulouse) or 5C (Aurillac), contributing to the end of snowfall.
North of the Loire, temperatures this morning were still below freezing, up to -5C in Nancy and Lille, and -4C in Rouen, Reims, and Rennes. Paris saw temperatures of around -2C.
The afternoon will bring significantly warmer temperatures than previous days, however, up to 8C in Normandy and Brittany, and 6C in other parts of the north.
Only certain parts of the Grand-Est region, and Lille, could remain below freezing.
In addition, these are the only areas set to continue to face temperatures below 0C tomorrow. Across the rest of France, average January temperatures will return, with temperatures of 3C and 8C in most cities.
People in the south were treated to a rare bout of snow on January 10, which continued overnight in higher-altitude areas.
Roads in the region have been affected, and in a number of areas, including the Aude department, school buses were cancelled.
In the Puy-de-Dôme department, roads were blocked for several hours last night, including the A75 motorway.
Lorries were banned from driving on smaller roads in the department, however these restrictions had been lifted by January 11.
Additional temporary measures are possible, depending on the level of snowfall this morning. Drivers in affected areas are urged to be extremely careful.
