Forty-nine departments were placed on Orange alert from Thursday morning by Météo-France, thirty-two for snow and ice on an axis going from North Brittany to the Grand-Est, and seventeen for strong winds further south. south.
“On Thursday, the Caetano depression will cross France from west to east, and will generate snowfall to the north of its trajectory on an axis going from North Brittany/Normandy to the Grand-Est, and strong winds in its southern part, notably from the Atlantic coasts to the Alps”, specifies Météo-France.
Snowfall is forecast “between the end of the night from Wednesday to Thursday and the evening of Thursday” and orange vigilance, the second most important of Météo-France's four levels, is maintained at least until midnight on Thursday. Snowfall could make driving conditions “difficult”.
The depression “will give snow, 1 to 3 cm possible in Paris and Petite Couronne, up to 7 cm in Essonne and more in the regions further east and at altitude (up to 20 cm on the side of Belfort)” warns the forecaster.
The snow will also affect “northern and central Brittany (two to five centimeters) and the interior of Normandy where accumulations could reach 10 cm on the Norman hills”.
The Normandy region, in consultation with the prefectures, has “decided to suspend school and commercial transport lines” for the entire day of November 21, 2024, in the departments of Orne, Manche, Calvados and Eure.
Also in Eure-et-Loir, where expected snow depths are between one and five centimeters and could reach up to 10 cm in the hilliest areas of Perche, school transport will be suspended on Thursday, according to the prefecture.
The Manche prefecture “recommends avoiding taking the road during the snowfall”.
– “Early winter episode” –
The departments concerned by snow and ice vigilance are: Aube, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Calvados, Cher, Côte-d'Or, Côtes-d'Armor, Doubs, Eure, Eure-et-Loir , Ille-et-Vilaine, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Manche, Haute-Marne, Mayenne, Nièvre, Orne, Haut-Rhin, Haute-Saône, Sarthe, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Vosges, Yonne, Territoire de Belfort, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val de-Marne, Val-d'Oise.
Orange wind vigilance particularly affects Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, the departments of Poitou-Charentes, northern Limousin and northern Auvergne.
The passage of this depression occurs as part of an “early winter episode” with the arrival from Wednesday of a “polar air mass” causing temperatures to drop. The latter “should peak between 5 and 10°C at the best of the day, i.e. values comparable to the January averages”, indicates Météo-France on its website.
Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Ecological Transition declared itself “extremely vigilant regarding the evolution of the situation”.
The cold should persist on Friday before a “powerful mild spell” expected during the day on Saturday.
In the southern part of the depression, more precisely on the Atlantic coasts from Aquitaine to Pays de la Loire up to the Massif Central, strong wind gusts capable of exceeding 100 km/h are possible.
At midday on Wednesday, 44 departments were on yellow alert for the wind for Thursday, while the two departments of Corsica, where gusts of 110 to more than 200 km/h are expected, are already on orange alert. for the day of Wednesday.
