5 departments on snow and ice alert

ABOUT 1,500 homes were blacked out in the Ardèche and school bus services were suspended in the Mayenne as snow and ice disrupted power lines and brought chaos to the roads.

The department was one of five to be placed on an orange weather alert for snow and ice today, with national forecaster Météo-France warning of difficult driving conditions.

Mayenne was joined on orange alert by Orne and Sarthe in the west of the country, while Drôme and Ardèche in the south-east were also put on the second-highest alert.

Météo-France said that following snowy conditions earlier this week, ice and freezing temperatures were the biggest risk in the west, with the mercury expected to dip below zero in the afternoon and early evening.

Meanwhile, in the Drôme and Ardèche, snow falls were expected down to about 300m as what the forecaster described as a “rain-snow disruption” swept in from the Mediterranean. Météo-France said that 5cm of snow would fall in the morning, and another 10cm in parts in the afternoon and into the evening.

It also warned of thundery showers along the Atlantic coast, especially towards the Basque Country.

Photo: Flavio Ensiki