22 departments in the North and East on orange alert due to risk of freezing rain

Météo-France has placed twenty-two departments in the north and north-east of France on orange alert for snow and ice due to“a winter episode requiring special attention” which began on Saturday January 4 in the evening. From midnight, only fourteen will remain there until 6 a.m. Sunday, according to Météo France. Yvelines, Essonne, Paris and the inner suburbs have thus come out of orange vigilance.

At 10 p.m., only Aisne, Ardennes, Aube, Côte-d’Or, Eure, Marne, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse remained on orange alert. Moselle, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Haute-Saône, Seine-Maritime, Seine-et-Marne, the Somme, the Vosges, the Territory of Belfort and Val-d’Oise. Fourteen of them will still be in orange until Sunday, 6 a.m.: Aisne, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Bas-Rhin, Haut -Rhine, Somme, Vosges and Territoire de Belfort.

“A disturbance associated with a lot of mild air will sweep across the entire country in a southwest-northeast direction on Saturday and overnight from Saturday to Sunday. In the departments in orange, this disturbance will encounter a mass of cold air, causing snowfall and especially freezing rain for a few hours, until the mild air takes over for good.according to the meteorologists’ bulletin.

Heavy freezing rain, which led to the closure of several motorways in Burgundy on Saturday evening, appears to be the cause of a pileup of three vehicles on the A6, in the Paris-Lyon direction, near Mercueil ( Gold Coast). The driver of one of the vehicles, a 20-year-old young man, died, while four other people were slightly injured, according to firefighters. At 9:30 p.m., while the freezing rains were about to end according to the weather services, sixteen road accidents were recorded in Côte d’Or, causing sixty victims including, in addition to the dead young man, two seriously injured .

Speed ​​lowered by 20 km/h in Ile-de-France

Snowfall should be quite brief, except in the border departments of the Grand-Est, where it could be more persistent and form a layer of 5 centimeters on the ground. “ Freezing rain then lasts between one and three hours, potentially causing traffic difficulties.adds Météo-France.

“Traffic conditions could be difficult in the affected areas”also warns Bison futé, who calls on road users to “use extra caution, as well as find out about changes in weather and traffic conditions before leaving”.

In several regions, authorities have limited the speeds allowed on the roads. In Ile-de-France, traffic speed is lowered by 20 km/h from 5 p.m. to midnight, on “all the axes of the road network”except the Paris ring road, announced the prefecture in a press release. The prefecture calls for « vigilance » and to the « prudence »recommending in particular to favor public transport, to equip your car with snow tires and to provide a “minimum equipment (warm clothing, food, water)” in case the vehicle is immobilized by the weather.

Measures have also been taken concerning heavy goods vehicles: in Aube, from 6 p.m., they will be prohibited from overtaking and will have to reduce their speed by 20 km/h on the entire road network then, from 7 p.m. , their circulation will be prohibited on national roads and highways.

In Côte-d’Or, Doubs, Jura and Territoire de Belfort, heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes will no longer be able to drive from 7 p.m. This ban will be extended from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. to Marne, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin, Haute-Saône and Vosges.