This first weekend of Christmas holidays, the weather promises to be quite unsettled in France, despite a lull this Friday.
For this first weekend of the Christmas holidays, La Chaîne Météo announces varied conditions: scattered rain, strong winds, and snowfall in the mountains down to low altitude, particularly this Sunday, December 22.
Return of disturbances
After the passage of a disturbed front this Thursday, December 19, a brief improvement is expected on Friday. The morning promises to be generally sunny across the country, before the grayness gains ground from the Channel coast, gradually extending to the north-eastern quarter.
While the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Côte d’Azur will still benefit from Nice sunny spells, showers will set in at the end of the day between the Vendée and the Belgian border, dividing France in two.
This weekend, the situation is not expected to improve significantly. Only the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region could remain away from precipitation, due to a windy episode linked to storm Dionisio.
Intense wind gusts in the Mediterranean
Since this Friday morning at 2 a.m., Corsica has been placed on orange alert for violent winds. The most powerful gusts, initially estimated between 120 and 140 km/h, could reach up to 180 km/h on Cap Corse.
These winds will then take a northwesterly direction, less usual, with peaks reaching 120 km/h, mainly affecting the western coast. A calm is expected in the afternoon, with winds dissipating in the evening.
But the mistral and tramontane will regain strength on Sunday, with new strong gusts, warns La Chaîne Météo.
Drop in temperatures and return of snow
A sharp drop in temperatures is expected as astronomical winter begins on Saturday, during the solstice. On Friday, temperatures will oscillate between 3°C in Belfort and 15°C in Nice, with values of 8°C in Lille, 9°C in Paris and 12°C in Brest. A similar trend is expected for Saturday.
On Sunday, the arrival of a cooler air mass will be conducive to snowfall, particularly abundant in the Northern Alps, where 30 to 50 cm of snow are expected around 1,500 meters altitude, and up to at 80 cm at 2000 meters.
Other massifs, such as the Jura and the Pyrenees, will also receive 20 to 40 cm of snow depending on the altitude. These snowfalls will continue on Monday, reaching relatively low altitudes across all terrain.
