UPDATE AT 10AM. The depression crosses the country this Thursday. Snow will be present but also a powerful east wind. Security measures have been taken to limit truck traffic in several areas.
The depression associated with storm Caetano arrived in the country this Thursday morning. It approaches France via Brittany before crossing it during the day. 54 departments have been placed on orange alert for snow, ice and wind. A wind watch which was extended to 4 other departments by Météo-France at 10 a.m.: Maine-et-Loire, Indre, Cantal and Haute-Loire.
The snow will be present in the plains on an axis going from northern Brittany and Normandy to the Grand-Est. The falls will continue until the evening in the Centre-Val-de-Loire, Ile-de-France, Burgundy, Franche-Comté and Alsace regions, underlines the forecast bulletin. We often expect 5 to 10 cm in the plains, locally up to 20 cm from the first heights between Normandy, Center, Burgundy and southern Alsace. Snowfall which will be accompanied in places by a strong east wind.
In Ile-de-France, we expect 1 to 5 cm in general, and 5 to 10 cm in the south of the region.
In the mountains, in the Alpswe expect falls that could be heavy.
The storm is accompanied by strong winds hitting the country from the Atlantic coasts to the Northern Alps then back to Corsica. We expect gusts generally reaching 110 to 120 km/h on the coast of the departments placed on orange alert, up to 130 to 140 km/h in the south of Brittany. Inland, gusts are generally around or exceed 100 km/h in the departments on orange alert, on the terrain, we can record 110 to 130 km/h in the Massif Central and more than 150 km/h in the peaks of the Alps.
Also read:
Snow in Île-de-France: the Paris prefecture lowers the speed by 20 km/h on the roads
Note that the power of the wind can affect traffic: In several departments (1), the circulation of trucks over 7.5 tonnes will be restrictedwith a speed lowered by 20 km/h and they will not be able to overtake. Heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes will also be prohibited on certain sections of national roads and on the A84 between Fougères and Caen. In Ile-de-France also, the speed limit will be lowered by 20 km/h and trucks weighing more than 7.5 tonnes will not be able to overtake on major roads from 11 a.m.
In Corsica, the westerly wind will strengthen again in the evening, this episode of wind will be briefer and less strong than the previous one but it could still cause damage with gusts of around 100 to 130 km/h , and even 160 to 180 km/h on Cap Corse.
