Météo-France anticipates a snowy episode in the north of France this Thursday, November 21. The contours of snowfall remain uncertain, but certain departments are already placed on yellow alert.
The forecasts are still quite uncertain but snow is expected to fall in France this Thursday, November 21. In a vigilance bulletin published at 10 a.m. this Wednesday, Météo-France placed 30 departments on yellow alert for a risk of snow-ice.
The departments concerned are as follows: Vendée, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Manche, Calvados, Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Indre-et-Loire, Indre , Cher, Yonne, Nièvre, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Haute-Saône, Jura, Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Ardèche, Drôme and Isère.
But this warning does not mean that snowflakes will fall with certainty in all these territories. As the agency explains, this potential snow is associated with the passage of the Caetano depression, which should cross the country from West to East, but whose exact trajectory is still difficult to determine.
The Keraunos Institute, which anticipates a “significant snow episode”, explains that “the extent of the depression deepening is still poorly understood, with a snow axis still uncertain in latitude and overall models scattered in detail”.
A few centimeters of powder
“From Brittany and Normandy to Franche-Comté and the Alps, snowfall is expected with accumulations of around several centimeters,” writes Météo-France. The south of Île-de-France could also be partly affected.
“There is still a fairly marked uncertainty about the exact position of this snow band, which is very dependent on the trajectory of the depression,” the agency said in its morning bulletin.
Furthermore, as forecasts become more precise, the “snow-ice” vigilance level should “very likely” be raised to an orange alert, signifying a dangerous episode, particularly on the roads.
Interviewed on Tuesday, November 19 by BFMTV.com, forecaster François Gourand anticipated notable volumes of snow. “We must expect soils which will turn white, with a few centimeters of snow. It is difficult to say much more at this stage,” he indicated, predicting “around 2 to 5cm” of snow “on the most of the regions concerned.
It remains to be determined whether the snow will stick to the ground. Questioned on this point on BFMTV, Yann Amice, meteorologist at Weather & co, underlines the role played by ground temperatures, which should oscillate “between 0, 1 and 2°C” in the regions concerned.
