sixteen departments of the North-East on orange alert due to a risk of freezing rain

Météo France has placed 16 departments in the north-east of France on orange snow and ice alert due to“a winter episode requiring special attention” which is due to begin on Saturday January 4 in the evening.

The departments concerned are Aisne, Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Bas-Rhin , Haut-Rhin, Seine-Maritime, Somme, Vosges and the Territoire de Belfort.

“A disturbance associated with a lot of mild air will sweep across the entire country in a southwest/northeast direction” Saturday and during the night from Saturday to Sunday, warns the organization.

“This disturbance will encounter a mass of cold air, causing snowfall and especially freezing rain for a few hours, until the mild air gains definitively”he specifies, recommending a “special vigilance” because the “Ice, even in small quantities, can be particularly annoying for road traffic”.

Snowfall should generally be quite brief, but may be more persistent in the border departments of the Grand-Est, possibly dropping up to 5 cm on the ground. “ Freezing rain then lasts between 1 and 3 hours, potentially causing traffic difficulties”adds Meteo-France.