After a shift in snow which “surprised” Belgium, watch out for icy weather this Friday: “The coldest morning of the week”, warns Farid

A stronger disturbance and further west than expected

“What happened was that the corridor of showers that entered from the sea – and which was supposed to pass over the German border – was a little stronger than expected and circulated further west. instead of brushing against Liège, Limburg and the east of the Ardennes, this small disturbance penetrated as far as the east of Brussels As the temperatures had had time to drop with the clearings of the day, we left. is closer to the point of frost. Then, the intensity of the precipitation meant that isothermal activity played its role.”

This meteorological phenomenon of isothermal working particularly when it is very cold at altitude, as is the case at the moment. When precipitation falls heavily, it tends to push the cold towards the ground. Temperatures drop and, when the snow takes over, it tends to hold.

“In Brussels, it didn’t hold up too well, particularly because of the urban effect. On the other hand, above 150 m altitude, in a triangle which includes the west of Liège, the east of Namur and the south of Walloon Brabant, the snow accumulated with 2 or 3 centimeters”, details Farid, who specifies that there were also snow storms in places.

After the white powder, it was the ice that appeared, complicating things even more. “The snow disturbance moved towards Germany during the night and gave way to clearings. Temperatures therefore fell and the snow, which had already melted a little, froze automatically. This gave rise to heavy ice. – which was announced – this morning It is a false legend to think that when the ground is wet, the snow does not hold,” recalls Farid.

Icy, down to -10 degrees and a little snow on Friday

Faced with the Caetano storm which is affecting our French neighbors, some might be worried about the arrival of the disturbance here this Thursday, but this will not be the case. “Apart from a snowflake lost in the extreme south of the Botte du Hainaut and in Gaume, we should escape it. On the other hand, as the Belgian sky will clear this evening, temperatures will drop again and there will be a big risk of black ice this Friday morning east of a Charleroi-Brussels line.”

So, should we expect new dire weather conditions on the road to end the week? “This Friday, we will be treated to the coldest morning of the week,” warns Farid.

“We could reach between -5 and -10 degrees in the Ardennes valleys, or even less very locally. In the center of the country, it will oscillate around 0 degrees. Furthermore, a few snow showers will be possible during the day near the Dutch border and in the north of the Ardennes, of the order of one or 2 additional centimeters above 500 m altitude. Elsewhere, it will be generally dry and bright. he adds.

As for the weekend, we could still have a risk of icy weather on Saturday morning before completely changing the atmosphere this Sunday, with temperatures… up to 18 degrees.