Prepare for big temperature drop of up to 10C in France

Bitter cold winds from the British Isles are set to hit France, causing temperature drops of up to 10C and ending the mild weather that most of the country has been experiencing.

An anticyclonic ‘potato’ phenomena (patate anticyclonique) – so called because of its shape on a map – will engulf France for a number of days, bringing the high-pressure winds..

The winds are forecast to bring stable but below average cold conditions and end the current rain.

The end to rainfall will be welcome news to many with most of France still facing weather warnings, mostly for high river levels due to the heavy downpours.

In the south-west, Corrèze, Dordogne, Charente, Charente-Maritime, and Gironde are all facing heightened tier-three warnings over river flooding.

You can keep up with general weather warnings on the official Météo France website, and you can find out more about which rivers are affected in your area on the Vigicrues website.

Cold, dry, frosty weekend

The winds will begin to reach France this evening (December 14), however will be felt most prominently from Friday (December 15) onwards.

On Saturday, the winds will cover most of the north of the country, partially affecting the south as well.

The post on X (formerly Twitter) below shows the extent of the winds – you can also see the shape of the weather pattern, resembling the ‘potato’ it is named after.

The centre and north of France will see cloudy skies alongside the winds, as well as frost in the mornings in some areas.

Temperatures will drop by as much as 10C in some areas, which until now have been experiencing highs significantly above December averages.

However, the winds will not bring significant snowfall to France in the run up to Christmas.

Could it last until Christmas?

Weather experts are currently predicting the winds will nestle above France until “at least Tuesday [December 19]” although they could stay in place for longer.

However, even if they do stay longer, Météo France is predicting a “wet” rather than white Christmas with unsettled weather returning in the run up to Christmas Day.

In addition, this would affect almost all of France except the Mediterranean, and could lead to further river flooding.

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