Météo-France announced, Sunday January 5, in its 6 a.m. bulletin, the end of orange vigilance for snow and ice in France. Ten departments in the North and North-East were under this alert level between midnight and 6 a.m.
And “winter episode requiring special attention” had started on Saturday evening. Météo-France had placed up to twenty-two departments on orange vigilance in the evening, including the Paris region.
According to the latest bulletin, “a disturbance associated with a mild air mass is sweeping the entire country, in a southwest/northeast direction. This mild air puts an end to the snow and freezing rain that required monitoring. Freezing rains evacuated the northeast of the country. A layer of snow of one to two centimeters is still present from northern Lorraine to Bas-Rhin”.
Heavy freezing rain, which led to the closure of several motorways in Burgundy on Saturday evening, appears to be the cause of a pileup of three vehicles on the A6, in the Paris-Lyon direction, near Mercueil ( Côte-d'Or). The driver of one of the vehicles, a 20-year-old young man, died, while four other people were slightly injured, according to firefighters. At 9:30 p.m., while the freezing rains were about to end according to the weather services, sixteen road accidents were recorded in Côte-d'Or, causing sixty victims including, in addition to the dead young man, two injured serious.
Speed lowered by 20 km/h in Ile-de-France
Météo-France had warned that the snowfall, which would be quite brief, except in the border departments of the Grand-Est, could “cause traffic difficulties”. “Traffic conditions could be difficult in the affected areas”had also warned Bison futé, calling on road users to “use extra caution, as well as find out about changes in weather and traffic conditions before leaving”.
In several regions, the authorities limited the speeds authorized on the roads on Saturday evening. In Ile-de-France, traffic speed was lowered by 20 km/h from 5 p.m. to midnight, on “all the axes of the road network”except the Paris ring road, announced the prefecture in a press release. The prefecture had called for « vigilance » and to the « prudence »recommending in particular to favor public transport. Measures were also taken on Saturday evening concerning heavy goods vehicles, notably in Aube, Côte-d'Or, Doubs, Jura, Territoire de Belfort, Marne, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin , Haute-Saône and the Vosges.
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