A descent of polar air will sweep through France this weekend, leading to a drop in temperatures and heavy snowfall. Stormy winds are also expected in several regions. Find our latest forecasts in this article.
It's extremely unsettled weather which will concern France in the coming days. The weekend promises to be really very rough with very strong gusts of wind, a descent of polar air and heavy snowfall in the mountains.
The depression, named Darragh by English meteorologists, will cross Ireland and England over the next few hours and generate stormy gusts of wind along the Channel. An active disturbance will also cross France on Saturday, bringing snow to the mountains. This disturbance will then be followed by a descent of polar air with a very sharp drop in temperatures. Temperatures will drop on Sunday and it will snow heavily in the mountains at very low altitudes.
So what should you expect this weekend? Does the cold set in over time? How much snow is expected? Find our latest forecasts in this article.
A very hectic Saturday!
On the sidelines of the Darragh depression, which will circulate over the British Isles on Saturday, violent gusts of wind are expected in France.
The most powerful wind gusts are expected along the Channel with peaks of nearly 100 km/h, or even 120 km/h towards the Normandy coast and Hauts-de-France.
In the lands, gusts could approach 80 to 90 km/h north of the Seine. Generally speaking, Saturday will be very windy across the country with wind gusts close to 70 to 80 km/h.
Heavy snowfall
On Saturday, the disturbance will bring rain at midday between the southwest and northeast of France. This disturbance will also lead to snowfall in mid-mountains in the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps.
The quantities of snow are therefore expected to be significant over the next few days in the mountains. With the descent of polar air, the rain-snow limit will drop to fairly low levels, often around 500 to 600 meters.
According to the latest forecasts, significant quantities of snow are expected in France over the coming days. By next Monday, it could fall 10 to 20 cm in the Vosges, 15 to 30 cm in the Jura, 40 to 80 cm in the north of the Alps, 15 to 30 cm in the southern Alps, 20 to 50 cm in the Massif central, 30 to 60 cm on the Corsican mountain and more than a meter of snow is possible in the Pyrenees.
Plummeting temperatures!
After the disturbance passed on Saturday, a descent of polar air will infiltrate from the north of the country. Temperatures will drop sharply on Sunday afternoon.
Proof that the drop in temperatures promises to be significant, the 10 degree mark will no longer be crossed on Sunday afternoon in most regions.
Besides, this winter sequence should continue and even intensify next week, with an increasingly continental flow. Temperatures will remain below seasonal values for a long time.
A northeasterly wind will accentuate the feeling of cold and frosts should gradually become more widespread as the days go by.