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

Ten departments in the north and north-east of France remain on orange alert for snow and ice due to“a winter episode requiring special attention” which began on Saturday January 4 in the evening. Météo-France had previously placed twenty-two departments under this alert level, including the Paris region.

At midnight, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, only the Aisne, the Ardennes, the Meurthe-et-Moselle, the Meuse, the Moselle, the Nord, the Pas-de-Calais, the Bas- Rhine, Haut-Rhin and the Territoire de Belfort.

“A disturbance associated with a mild air mass is sweeping the entire country in a southwest – northeast direction, during the night from Saturday to Sunday. This disturbance will encounter a mass of cold air in the north of the country, causing snowfall and especially freezing rain for a few hours, until the mild air gains definitively.according to the latest 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 ( Côte-d’Or). 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 injured serious.

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.Météo-France reported earlier.

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

In several regions, the authorities limited the speeds authorized on the roads in the evening. In Ile-de-France, traffic speed was 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 had called for « vigilance » and to the « prudence »recommending in particular to favor public transport. Measures were also taken on Saturday evening concerning heavy goods vehicles, notably in Aube, Côte-d’Or, Doubs, Jura, Territoire de Belfort, Marne, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin , Haute-Saône and the Vosges.