The Orange snow-ice alert for Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère and Ain, in progress since this weekend, was extended until Tuesday morning by Météo-France, which reported snowfall. “remarkable” snow and strong winds in the Northern Alps.
Orange avalanche vigilance for both Savoie and Isère is also maintained until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, indicates the public body in its latest bulletin at 4:00 p.m.
Snow has fallen heavily since Sunday morning in the region, causing slowdowns and accidents on certain roads, some TER line interruptions and power cuts. On the other hand, it delighted the ski resorts for the Christmas holidays and celebrations.
The thickness of snow on the ground generally exceeds 10 cm from 600/700 meters above sea level, and between 800 and 1,000 m, there are now 31 cm in Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Savoie), 37 cm in Chamonix (Haute- Savoie) and 44 cm in Villard-de-Lans (Isère), according to Météo-France.
Motorists are called to be “greatly vigilant” on the roads by state services, and to drive equipped with winter tires or chains.
Throughout the Northern Alps, the snow cover is unstable, and off-piste skiing is strongly discouraged.
Avalanches, mainly “large”, remain “potentially still frequent” on Monday but they should gradually fade overnight with the drop in precipitation, indicates Météo-France.
“They can reach exposed mountain roads as well as high-altitude infrastructure,” warns the organization.
In the Hautes-Alpes (yellow alert), the closure of the Col du Lautaret was extended by the prefecture until Tuesday 9 a.m., the road being “impassable” due to snowfall and strong gusts of wind.
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