Even if this Wednesday marks a change in the origin of the air in France, with rising temperatures, frosts are still present this morning. They are logically less strong in the regions affected by the change in air mass, but remain pronounced in those south of an axis going from Loire" rel="tag">Pays de la Loire to Alsace.
For example, it was -9.6°C in Saint-Étienne, in the Loire, -9.4°C in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) or -8.7°C in Nevers (Nièvre). The thermometer fell to similar levels in Creuse, Guéret, or Brive (Corrèze) with -8.8°C. In Aveyron, in Rodez, the low point is a little lower, with -8.9°C.
A “temporary risk”
In the north of the country, rising temperatures go hand in hand with the return of fog, low clouds and drizzle. As the ground is still frozen and the temperatures are negative at the end of the night from Île-de-France to Alsace with lower and lower values going towards the German border, there is a risk of icy conditions.
Météo France has also placed 15 departments on yellow alert (level 2 out of 4) in these regions due to the risk of ice. With the warming of the air, this situation will be temporary. The meteorological organization reports a “temporary risk”. Vigilance ended in the peripheral departments of Île-de-France in the middle of the day, but remains in force from the south of the capital region to Alsace. Haute-Loire and Lozère have also been added to the list.
In any case, ice has already caused numerous accidents. Sanef, which notably manages the A4 between Paris and Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), explains that “driving conditions are difficult on the A4 in both directions between Château-Thierry (Aisne) and Reims (Marne) and delicate between Sainte-Ménehould (Marne) and the Northern Vosges”.
In Bas-Rhin, firefighters recorded around forty interventions between 6 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. including around twenty road accidents, they indicate in a press release. They are mainly linked to weather conditions. In Bischoffsheim, a person died after a head-on collision between the vehicle he was driving and a tractor on a secondary road.
Two deaths in Aisne
Two people died in Aisne in road accidents linked to ice, firefighters and local authorities announced. A first fatal accident occurred around 7:00 a.m. in Bergues-sur-Sambre. “A light vehicle deviated from its lane and collided head-on with a heavy goods vehicle,” detailed the gendarmerie. The 19-year-old driver of the car died.
Shortly before 8:00 a.m., another accident between a car and a two-wheeler took place between Rozoy-sur-Serre and Brunehamel. The moped rider, aged 18, died after being “struck from behind”, again according to the gendarmerie. “The investigation is still ongoing, but these accidents are certainly linked to the ice. The climatic conditions, grip and visibility, are strongly in question”, in particular due to “thick fog”, explained a communications officer from the department’s gendarmerie.
On the A35, several accidents occurred after 9 a.m., involving 26 people, five of whom were slightly injured, according to the firefighters. The motorway was cut near Duppigheim (Bas-Rhin), reports radio Ici, in the direction Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) – Colmar (Haut-Rhin). According to radio 107.7, the A4 motorway was also cut for a while near Brumath, after an accident between three vehicles.
Temperatures are rising
A mass of oceanic origin succeeds this Wednesday a mass of more continental origin. This change has been taking place in the north and northwest of the country since the night of Tuesday into Wednesday. The most visible difference concerns temperatures. The Météociel map shows, at 7 a.m., the difference with the day before at the same time.
In the north of the country it is often 5°C to 8°C warmer than Tuesday morning, sometimes up to ten in areas like Hazebrouck (North) or eastern Normandy.
