Pic of cold. Snow and ice : 30 departments in orange alert – West-France

France will know this weekend a pic of freezing cold, with freezing rain on the north of the Hexagon, in a winter up here marked by a sunshine unpublished. Météo France has placed this Saturday, 30 departments of northern France in vigilance orange for the ice and snow, the greatest caution is recommended on the roads.

the origin of this episode cold, and is scheduled to last until Sunday, are the masses of polar air descended from Scandinavia to central Europe, where they have generated storms of snow (Bulgaria, Kosovo…) and that, at the margin, also have to drop the temperatures in france.

Or on frozen ground, combined with the arrival of a ” small perturbation “ from the West, this gives the risk of a major ice storm, ” warns Frederick Nathan, a forecaster with Météo France.

also Read : Snow, ice : how to drive safely ?

temperature ” negative “

Thirty departments of the northern half of France were on orange alert weather Saturday morning because of the risks associated with snow and ice. Le Calvados is out of the vigilance, which now extends to the east of the country where the centre regional meteorological Strasbourg announced Saturday at 06h temperatures in the range of ” between -7 and -15 degrees in the plains “.

temperatures have been Friday afternoon ” barely positive “ on these regions. On Friday morning, -19°C was raised to Maiche (at 825 m, in the Doubs), but also -15 to Épinal, -12 to Mourmelon (Marne), the cold, the more intense settling more readily on land covered with snow.

30 departments involved in the amber alert : Aisne (02), Ardennes (08), Aube (10), Eure (27), Côte d’or (21), Eure-et-Loir (28), Loir-et-Cher (41), Loiret (45), Marne (51), Haute-Marne (52), Meurthe-et-Moselle (54), Meuse (55), Moselle (57), Nord (59), Oise (60), Orne (61), Pas-de-Calais (62), Paris and petite couronne (75-92-93-94), Sarthe (72), the Seine-Maritime (76), Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Sum (80), Vosges (88), Yonne (89) Essonne (91) and Val-d’oise (95).

Some tips of good sense in the event of great cold. | Visactu

Up to -11°C this night in the paris region

In the paris region, the temperatures of the night have been ” negative “ from -3 to -11 degrees. The mercury was down on Friday to the lowest in Seine-et-Marne, Meaux and Fontainebleau (-8°C). In Paris, he did -1,6°C. It was identified as -7°C in Bergerac (Dordogne), Albi and Agen, and -4°C in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).

This ” air mass very cold “ is accompanied by a disturbance coming from the south of England, which runs the risk of freezing rain. This ” episode dangerous “ should first touch the North, the Pas-de-Calais, Picardy and Normandy in the early morning on Saturday, before gradually the Ile-de-France and Champagne. The departments of the Sarthe, in Loiret, as well as the north of Burgundy and Lorraine should be reached in the afternoon. ” This episode will continue into the evening or even the night of Saturday to Sunday, before the thaw is finally sufficient and eliminates the risk of ice “, concludes Météo France.

Nothing rare, however, for a winter average, ” said Mr. Nathan, who also specifies that the temperature ” should go back as soon as Sunday “, an oceanic air chasing little by little the polar air.

Overall, in a context of global warming, ” the winters are radoucis, but one is never safe from episodes, harsh “, as it is, for example, product a in January 2016, emphasizes his colleague Philippe Métayer.

Records of drought

The previous winter (2014-15), the country had not experienced real cold.

And this new peak occurs at the end of a month of December unusually dry and sunny, with temperatures close to normal, the fact of a vast anticyclone stabilized over the country.

All the country, except the east of Corsica, in fact, have lack of rain and record drought have been beaten in the course of this month, leaving fear for the recharge of groundwater.

In Savoie, Chambéry has not received a drop of water. Ouessant (Finistère) 11 mm (previous record deficit : 37 mm in 2004), Macon 11 mm (14 in 1963) and Grenoble 4 mm (12 in 1971).

Vigilance weather : the map of the beginning of the weekend. | Visactu

” the Vagaries of the weather “

” These are the vagaries of the weather, it is a question of natural variability “, ” said Mr. Nathan.

In the meantime, in Maubeuge (Nord), a hundred school students blocked Friday the entries from their school in protest against the cold in the classroom, affected by a heating breakdown.

The solidarity associations are concerned about they of the deficiencies of the emergency shelter and the situation of the homeless, forced some to sleep outside despite the cold temperatures.

The minister of Housing, Emmanuelle Cosse, has however said that this winter was ” no more difficult than the other “, highlighting the increase in capacity since 2012.