54 departments on orange alert before the passage of storm Caetano

Météo-France placed, Thursday, November 21, fifty-four departments on orange vigilance: thirty-three for snowfall and ice on an axis going from the north of Brittany to the Grand-Est as well as the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; and twenty-one for strong winds in a diagonal that goes from Finistère to Savoie, as well as Corsica.

The Caetano storm “will cross France from west to east and cause an early and sufficiently notable winter episode to make traffic conditions difficult in the regions concerned”warns Météo-France in its bulletin published in the morning.

“In Ile-de-France, we expect 1 cm to 5 cm, locally 5 cm to 10 cm in the south of the region”continues the forecaster, who adds that snowfall “are also expected at low altitude in the Southern Alps”.

In addition, the wind will blow strongly with “gusts generally between 100 km/h and 120 km/h on the coast of the departments placed on orange vigilance”even “130 km/h to 140 km/h possible in the south of Brittany and occasionally on exposed islands and capes”. Inland, gusts should be around 100 km/h and up to “110 km/h to 130 km/h on the Massif Central and more than 150 km/h on the highest points of the Alps”. In places, temperatures should be close to those of January.

Avalanches possible in the Alps

In several departments, the movement of trucks weighing more than 7.5 tonnes will be restricted, with a speed reduced by 20 km/h and a ban on overtaking. This applies from 6 a.m. in Calvados, Côtes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, Manche, Morbihan, Orne and Sarthe, and from 11 a.m. in Cher, 'Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret. 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 (Ille-et-Vilaine) and Caen.

In Ile-de-France, 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.

The Normandy region has “decided to suspend school and commercial transport lines” all day on November 21, in the departments of Orne, Manche, Calvados and Eure.

In Eure-et-Loir, where expected snow depths could reach up to 10 cm in the hilliest areas of Perche, school transport will be suspended on Thursday, according to the prefecture. It will be the same in the agglomeration of Saint-Lô in Manche or even in Sarthe.

In Loire-Atlantique, the Saint-Nazaire bridge will be closed to traffic if wind gusts exceed 120 km/h.

Strong winds could also cause avalanches in the Alps. “Extreme vigilance is required when practicing all mountain activities and mainly ski or snowshoe hikes” and Haute-Savoie “The avalanche risk is 4 out of 5 on the Mont-Blanc massif”warned the prefecture.