While Météo-France announced some “light frosts” this Thursday and Friday in certain cities, France has in the past experienced much harsher Novembers than usual, with climatic conditions which have sometimes paralyzed the whole country.
1919, 1969, 1980 or even 2010, many French people remember these years as having listed the coldest Novembers. While Météo-France announced a drop in temperatures – sometimes negative – over a large part of the country for this week, in 1919, the northern half of France was covered in snow.
“105 years ago (November 14, 1919), a real snowstorm paralyzed the northern half of France (20 cm in Paris),” recalled Guillaume Séchet, meteorologist, on X. A similar situation in Besançon, covered that same day by 25 centimeters. At the time, it was the heaviest snowfall for this time of year since 1887.
Fifty years later, on November 30, 1969, Mouthe, a small town located in the Doubs department, recorded a record cold temperature of –29.6° C. The same day, -11° C and -9° C were respectively recorded in Aurillac (15) and Romorantin (41).
Early snow and cold in 1980
Barely had the month of November arrived when the thermometers showed negative temperatures and the first snowflakes fell in France. On the day of November 6, 1980, the mercury in Brest did not exceed -0.6°C. According to Météo-France, “the weather situation at the beginning of November 1980 was in fact marked by a typical configuration of winter cold waves”.
Thus, between November 5 and 6, 1980, Météo-France recorded 21 cm of snow in Rostrenen (22), 30 cm in Clermont-Ferrand (63) and even 28 cm in Béziers (34). In terms of temperatures, forecasters had measured -1°C in Angers (49), -11.5°C in Rodez (12) or -7.5°C in Cognac (16) and widespread frosts.
More recently, France also experienced a very cold month of November. In 2010, for example, weather stations recorded -15.3° C in Orléans (45) and even -16.8° C in Guillon (28).
