It was in the village of Mouthe, on January 13, 1968, that the national cold record was recorded in France. Located in the Jura massif, in Doubs exactly, Mouthe is what meteorologists call a “cold hole”. What happened 57 years ago to lead to such extreme cold?
The commune is known as the coldest in France, and for good reason, Mouthe records a temperature below -20°C on average six years out of seven.
Data from Météo France also shows that it freezes on average every other day in this village, or 176 days per year! Severe frosts (below -5°C) even occur 80 days per year on average, and there are 24 days without any thaw during the day.
Here the cold air remains trapped
Located at an altitude of 930 meters, Mouthe has a semi-continental and mountainous climate, that is to say a climate close to that of certain areas of North America (such as Canada and the northern United States). ). Extremes are therefore common, but the town has characteristics that make the cold worse: it is located very far from the sea and therefore does not benefit from the regulating effect of water, and is located in a “basin”, a “combe” more exactly.
-In the absence of wind, theairair cold accumulates and remains trapped.
In January 1968, all conditions were ripe for extreme cold: freezing air with a northeast flow, no wind, and snow on the ground which amplified the chill.
An even lower temperature, -41°C on January 17, 1985, was recorded in Mouthe, but this was not officially recognized by Weather reportWeather report France.
