Almost half of France under alert for strong winds, storms and snow

Some 44 French departments are under yellow and orange weather alerts today (January 9), as strong winds, storms and heavy snowfall affect the west, centre and east of the country.

Both Corsican departments are on an orange warning for strong winds, while all of France’s western coastline, from Seine-Maritime to Pyrénées-Atlantiques are on a yellow alert variously for wind, strong waves, storms and heavy rain with the chance of flooding.

Gusts of up to 141km/h have already been picked up on the Ile de Groix (Morbihan), 135km/h at the Pointe de Penmarch (Finistère), 123km/h at Ouessant (Finistère) and 109km/h at Carteret (Manche).

A wave of 10 metres in height was also spotted yesterday (January 8) off Finistère.

In Corsica, gusts of over 120km/h have been detected this morning, and winds of 120-140km/h are expected this evening. The orange alert will come into force at 15:00 and last until 22:00.

In general, the wind is forecast to reach 90-100km/h on the coast and 70-80km/h inland.

Eastern French departments are under yellow alerts for snow and black ice and avalanches. Further information on the departments concerned can be found on the Météo France website.

The Mediterranean coastline is predicted to see sunny weather today, but the rest of the country will experience showers which sometimes become stormy.

Rain will turn to snow between 800 and 1,200 metres in the mountains, Météo France has said.

This afternoon, temperatures will generally range between 6C and 13C across France, with highs of 16C in the south and up to 18C in Corsica.

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