“Industrial” snow fell in Beauvais, disrupting traffic. This phenomenon, impossible to predict and due to several human and meteorological factors, also occurred in Raimbeaucourt, in the North.
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An unforeseen snowy episode took place in Beauvais during the night of Monday 20 to Tuesday 21 January, “causing significant disruption to traffic“, notes the Beauvais town hall in a press release.
The salting of the roads could not be put in place before the snow appeared.due to lack of weather warning“. Same situation in Raimbeaucourt, in the North, where a “thin layer of snow” fell in places.
Snow also fell in Raimbeaucourt (North).
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© Patrick Marlière
In reality, what fell last night in Beauvais and Raimbeaucourt was not snow.”natural“It’s actually snow.”industrial“It’s a special meteorological phenomenon.”which occurs mainly in urban and industrial areas“, we can read on Medias Weather, meteorology expertise office.
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Unlike natural snow, “it is formed from polluting particles present in the atmosphere. This type of snow results from the condensation and freezing of water vapor around these fine particles, resulting from human activities such as industry, heating and automobile traffic.“, the website continues.
Its director, Patrick Marlière, explains that we can “find yourself in the morning with a little snow on the roads, but you arrive at the nearby village and there is nothing left. Very specific conditions are required“.
Although it can create a deceptive winter landscape, industrial snow is actually a visible indicator of air pollution and highlights the impact of human activities on our environment.
Still in its press release, the town hall presents its “most sincere apologies to the people of Beauvais for this unforeseen situation“. She ensures that the teams are “currently mobilized to treat and salt the roads in order to quickly restore safe traffic conditions“.
However, Patrick Marlière emphasizes that no “weather service in the world cannot make this type of forecast“. It is therefore impossible to predict or geolocate it.
This industrial snow also depends on the direction of the winds, which explains why it “type one village one year and another the following year. We have them every year throughout the country, there is nothing exceptional, but it is always surprising because we don't talk about it in a weather report.“.
The director of Media Weather, however, emphasizes that “even if these are particle emissions into the atmosphere, and industries are less and less polluting, we must avoid playing with this snow. We don't play with industrial snow like we would play with natural snow“.
