The first offensive of winter is about to hit France, with temperatures set to drop several degrees below seasonal norms and snow set to appear in the mountains! What should you expect?
As announced several days ago, the weather situation will change radically in France over the next few hours. The anticyclone which has protected us for almost 15 days will retreat towards the British Isles, while a depression over Germany will shift the flow to the northeast sector.
In this configuration, significantly colder weather can be expected in the coming days, with temperatures that will even fall well below seasonal norms. The start of the week promises to be not only colder but also unsettled, with snow in the mountains.
What should you actually expect? How much will temperatures drop? Find all our latest forecasts in this article.
Temperatures still in season this Monday
This Monday, temperatures will remain relatively close to seasonal norms, despite a notable decline in the southern regions. Indeed, the temperatures forecast this afternoon in the southwest will be much lower than those recorded in recent days, where values sometimes reached 23 to 24 degrees.
This afternoon, temperatures are forecast to be 9°C in Mulhouse, 10°C in Strasbourg, 11°C in Besançon, Orléans and Reims, 12°C in Rouen and Dijon, 13°C in Paris, Lille, Caen and Clermont-Ferrand, 14°C in La Rochelle and Tarbes, 15°C in Brest, Bordeaux and Agen, 16°C in Auch, 17°C in Aurillac and Nîmes, 18°C in Marseille, 19°C in Perpignan, 20°C in Montpellier and 21°C in Nice, Toulon and Ajaccio.
The decline will become more pronounced tomorrow!
Tomorrow, the descent of polar air will intensify over the country, accompanied by a particularly unpleasant north to northeast wind which will accentuate the feeling of cold.
The map above shows a progression of green zones, indicating that maximum temperatures will no longer exceed the 10 degree mark at the best time of the day.
With the wind from north to northeast, the winter feeling will be accentuated. Tuesday afternoon, temperatures will locally be 3 to 5 degrees below seasonal norms.
In detail, the temperatures forecast for Tuesday afternoon are 8°C in Metz, 9°C in Reims, 10°C in Rouen, Nantes and Tours, 11°C in Paris, Cherbourg, Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse, 12°C in Auch, 14°C in Biarritz and Marseille, 15°C in Nice and Perpignan, 17°C in Montpellier and 19°C in Ajaccio.
Temperatures could also drop another 2 to 3 degrees on Wednesday afternoon, particularly in the north of the country.
Rapid arrival of snow in the mountains
From Tuesday, snow showers are expected in the Massif Central, the Alps and the Pyrenees from 1000 to 1200 meters above sea level.
Snowfall is expected to continue on Wednesday in the Pyrenees, while the other massifs will return to drier weather conditions. The forecast quantities of snow therefore do not look exceptional for the next few hours.
A few small frosts could also occur in the north of the country from Thursday, due to clearer skies overnight.
Uncertainties remain regarding the evolution of weather conditions at the end of the week in the south of France, due to the presence of a new cold drop on the Iberian Peninsula. We will therefore refine the forecasts in our next articles.
