what we know about the episode expected this Thursday

After settling on the heights of the Vosges during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, snow is expected all the way to the plains this Thursday in Alsace, Météo France announced. Like almost half of France, the department has even been placed on orange snow-ice alert. Concretely, what should we expect? We take stock of what we know.

« Traffic conditions can become very difficult”

The episode could begin at the end of the morning, and last until the night, specifies the prefecture in a press release. “The most dangerous phenomena should cross the Haut-Rhin in the evening, particularly the south of the department,” she explains. Traffic conditions can quickly become very difficult across the entire network, particularly in the forestry sector where falling trees can increase the difficulties.”

Up to 20 cm possible in South Alsace

On its Facebook page, the Alsatian design office Atmo-Risk also envisages flakes from midday, then a drop in the mercury around 4 p.m., which will allow the snow to begin to hold on the ground. This Wednesday evening, it was still difficult to accurately predict the thickness of the snow cover, but Atmo risk considered the possibility that it would reach 5 to 10 cm in central Alsace, or even… « 10 to 20 cm of snow on the Haut-Rhin, particularly south of Colmar! »

Last early episode in 2021

In addition to the possible intensity of this precipitation, and the fact that it could occur during rush hour, this phenomenon is also notable for its precocity. On a national scale, such an episode had not been observed during this period since 2019, and in Alsace, “this would be the most notable snowy episode since that of January 16-17, 2021”, observes Atmo-Risk.

The Bas-Rhin in yellow

This Wednesday evening, Bas-Rhin was on yellow alert. “The uncertainties lie in the northern and southern extension of the orange snow-ice warning and depend on the trajectory of this depression,” Météo France warned. This is why other departments may be placed on orange alert during future vigilance updates. »