Tuesday, November 12, temperatures plummeted in just 24 hours in several regions of France.
Several passes in the Alps were closed due to snow.
Temperatures that can be explained by a “cold drop” phenomenon, air masses coming from Scandinavia.
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The 8 p.m.
Five degrees at daybreak Tuesday, November 12… compared to 17 again Monday afternoon. “I forgot the gloves, I would have taken them”reacts a resident of Aurillac (Cantal), surprised by the cold this Tuesday morning. “There, we still take out the sweaters, the turtlenecks, the scarves, the gloves, the coat… We took everything out”explains a passerby, interviewed in the report at the top of this article. “This is the first day of cold weather.” added another.
The cold suddenly invaded the entire territory. In 24 hours, we can for example note a drop of 8 degrees in Toulon (Var), 10 degrees in Gourdon (Lot), or even 12 degrees in Sisteron (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). Météo-France explains these temperature drops by a phenomenon of “cold drop (closed depression in the upper layers of the atmosphere, associated with cold air), which slides over France from the North-East to the South-West, causing showers”.
“The cold drop is often accompanied by cooler air, which arrives in the country. There is therefore a cooling of temperatures, both linked to the air mass, but also to precipitation,” adds forecaster Christelle Robert, interviewed in the TF1 report above.
First snow in the mountains from 1000 – 1200 meters
Showers give snow from 1000-1200 meters on the massifs of southern France, indicates Météo-France. Ten centimeters of powder fell on Tuesday morning in the village of Val-d'Isère (Savoie). At the Col de Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), snow plows were urgently dispatched to clear the road.
Temperatures also fell in Toulouse, where it was 8 degrees on Tuesday morning, compared to 20 degrees at the end of last week. “It’s true that we haven’t been used to the last few days. We’ve had abnormally mild weather. It’s inevitable that the cold will come a little.” puts a passerby into perspective. At the end of the week, Météo France announces morning gray weather, sometimes stubborn, particularly in the north of France, and often sunny skies in the south.
