Snow at low altitude then a dry New Year's Eve: Météo France forecasts until Christmas Eve

The weather is very unsettled at the dawn of the Christmas holidays. The rain will cross the country from the South-West to the North-East on Saturday December 21, 2024, bringing snow from 1,000 meters in the Massif Central and 1,500 meters in the Pyrenees. On the shores of the Mediterranean, if the sun is out, wind gusts of 70-80 km/h will blow on the coast, and up to 60 km/h inland.

It will not be better on Sunday December 22, when the gusts will gain strength, this time on the massifs, up to 80-90 km/h in the Alps and the Pyrenees. “Weather conditions with strong wind and snow could be complicated around ski resorts,” warns Météo France. Gusts also very strong in the North, they could reach up to 100 km/h near the Channel. “Moreover, the wind will also strengthen in the Mediterranean, with a violent tramontane and a libeccio which could be stormy in Corsica during the night.”

Snow at the start of the week, then a quiet New Year’s Eve

Fortunately, the weather may well calm down as Christmas approaches. “With a push of the Azores anticyclone on the west of the country, the wind will weaken and large clearings will develop in the north and west of France”, from Monday December 23, 2024. Showers could, however transform into snow in the Massif Central, the Vosges and the Northern Alps from 400 or 500 meters above sea level, and in the Pyrenees from 700 meters.

But from Tuesday, December 24, “the weather will become dry again almost everywhere, with the very last snowfall on the eastern terrain in the morning.” Santa Claus will clear the sky before starting his tour. “At the end of the day and evening, New Year's Eve will take place in a very calm atmosphere, generally dry, under a sky probably cloudy over a good half of the north, and more starry on a southern fringe. Calm weather, rather gray in the north, and sunny in the south, which should continue for Christmas Day, with mild temperatures, above seasonal norms.