In total, 49 departments have been placed on orange alert by Météo-France: 32 for snow and ice from 6 a.m., 17 for violent winds from 8 a.m. In New Aquitaine, seven departments are concerned by vigilance against violent winds: Gironde, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Haute-Vienne and Creuse.
Snow on the plains in the north
The disturbance will reach France late Wednesday night. It will first concern northern Brittany then Normandy, before extending to northern Burgundy and Franche-Comté, passing through the Paris region. When it arrives, snow will fall in these regions from early morning. 1 to 3 cm are possible in Paris and the inner suburbs, up to 7 cm in Essonne and more in the regions further east and at altitude (up to 20 cm near Belfort).
More unusually for the season, snow will also affect northern and central Brittany (2 to 5 cm) and the interior of Normandy where accumulations could reach 10 cm on the Norman hills. This snow will be particularly wet and could pose problems for transport.
Gusts over 100 km/h
On the southern front of the storm, a westerly wind will develop at the start of the day, first on the Atlantic coast. It will then strengthen during the day and will progress rapidly towards the east of the country, on a New Aquitaine/Northern Alps axis.
“We expect gusts generally between 100 and 120 km/h on the coast of the departments placed on orange vigilance, and even occasionally up to 130 km/h possible on the exposed islands and capes”, according to Météo-France. Inland, gusts will generally be around or exceed 100 km/h in the departments on orange alert, with peaks around 110 km/h more occasionally.
The exact trajectory of storm Caetano, which should then head towards northern Italy, “could still fluctuate slightly, and cause a slight readjustment of the departments concerned by orange vigilance”, warns Météo-France.
TER circulation interrupted
As a precaution, the SNCF announced an interruption of traffic on several TER lines in New Aquitaine for the day of Thursday. “Substitution by bus is not in place. We advise you to postpone your trip, stay informed via your usual tools,” she adds.
