Many areas on alert as Storm Enol hits France
The bad weather is forecast to head south on Monday, bringing heavy snow to mountainous areas
People heading to the ski resorts for the holidays are advised to take care as gales, rain and snow are forecast on Monday (December 23), potentially provoking avalanches in mountainous areas
Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock
Weather alerts were raised in several departments of France
as Storm Enol hit on Sunday (December 22), with the depression forecast to head
south on Monday bringing heavy snow to mountainous areas.
The low-pressure system called Storm Enol, which formed over
the North Sea on Saturday, is forecast to cause severe weather in the north of
France on Sunday and further south on Monday.
A total of 84 departments have been placed on (yellow) alert
by state weather service Météo France due to high wind, with three departments
on the Channel coast - La Manche,
Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d'Armor - on high (orange) alert.
The gales could reach up to 105km/h in these areas on
Sunday.
The storm is also forecast to bring heavy rain to the east
of France - in Alsace in particular - where nine departments are on alert for
flooding on Sunday.
The depression will head south over the course of Sunday,
leading to more settled weather in the north on Monday.
However, people heading to the ski resorts for the holidays
are advised to take care as gales, rain and snow are forecast to continue in
the south, potentially provoking avalanches in mountainous areas.
In the Alps, 30 to 60cm of snow is expected above 1,000m,
and 80cm above 1,500m.
In the Pyrenees, forecasts suggest 15 to 30cm of snow above
1,000m, and 30cm above 1,500m.
