villages cut off from the world

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“And to think that there are some who pay to go to the snow! », exclaims, all smiles and covered in large flakes, a customer at the Coulouvray-Boisbenâtre grocery store.

This small town perched at an altitude of 250 m, near Villedieu-les-Poêles, will remember, like much of the South Channel, the passage of the Caetano depression.

And for good reason, this Friday, November 22, 2024 in the morning, about thirty centimeters were measured in the town of this small village cut off from the world. “We haven't seen that since the famous snowstorm of March 2013,” replied a customer, a coffee in hand to warm up.

“Open to help residents”

While the snow disturbance from the day before had already covered the area with around twenty centimeters of white gold, the enchantment and beauty of the landscapes were hardly in people's minds. Blocked cars, internet and power outages…

About ten centimeters were added to the significant ground layer, with the passage of numerous snow showers during the night from Thursday to Friday.

On November 21, we only had five seats. This Friday, I opened in the morning to help out the residents with the little bread I had left, but I closed at 11 a.m. because it was no use, there was no one there!

Around 10 a.m., outside, alone the 4×4 managed to access to the village via the departmental road which crosses it. Under the heaviest downpours, flakes of the size of a feather fell in abundance.

Solidarity

Unable to work, it was the village mason who came to lend a hand to try to fight this weather worthy of the Far North. Using a telescopic handler with a bucket at the front, Stéphane Leblanc replaced the departmental agents responsible for clearing snow from the roads. “At least to clear the space in front of the church for the few people who will arrive here,” he explains.

This new winter offensive surprised more than one, causing a few more road accidents in the morning, mainly crumpled sheet metal. A little further, near Saint-Pois, it was the heavy goods vehicles which once again bore the brunt of the poor road conditions.

With refreezing of the roadway During the night and these new snowfalls, several truck drivers found themselves stranded in the town, renowned for its significant coastline which crosses it.

This, then leading towards Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie and Gathemo, takes road users on the crests of the Armorican massif and the highest point of the English Channel, at 368 m.

60 cm snowdrifts

A even higher altitudefavoring an even greater layer of snow. “I tried to pass, but it’s impossible,” whispers a driver, skating on the restart in a soup of snow.

Many tractors from local farms created the first crossing on the D39.

With yesterday's wind blowing at more than 80 km/h, walls of snow had formed on this road. “Even with my tractor, this Friday morning, I had difficulty clearing access to my farm. 60 cm snowdrifts blocked the way,” said Christophe Bazin, a farmer in Vengeons, a neighboring town.

While it was still 0 degrees at noon and a few flakes continued to fall, the rain and the mild weather had already arrived north of Villedieu-les-Poêles.

So, around 2 p.m., dozens and dozens of trucks left the Guilberville area near the A84, once again open to traffic for vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes.

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