Black ice and snow alerts multiply across north France

France’s official meteorological site Météo France has placed 18 departments in northern France on heightened tier-three warning for icy road conditions – with that figure expected to double by tomorrow.

Departments from Normandy to the German border are facing tier-three orange warnings for neige-verglas (snowy and icy road conditions, including black ice), with many other departments north of the Loire facing tier-two yellow warnings.

The warnings are due largely to the collision of high and low-pressure winds in the north of France, which will cause snowfall from tonight (January 16) onwards.

Today’s conditions are caused by extremely cold overnight temperatures due to the low-pressure winds in the north.

Lows of -9.2C in Fontainebleau near Paris and -7.6C in Forges are the coldest of the 2023/2024 winter so far in the Île-de-France and Normandy regions.

Read more: Is this week’s -31.4C amongst France’s coldest ever temperatures?

This has led to heavy morning frosts and icy roads although there has not been significant snowfall yet.

Snowfall to begin tonight

Snowfall is expected at the end of the day when bitter cold and dry low-pressure winds from the north come into contact with the high-pressure southern winds originating from Spain.

It will be preceded by rain in the most southerly departments affected by the higher-tier warnings, in Normandy and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

This will quickly turn to snow during the evening and continue overnight.

Daytime temperatures in the northern half of the country will be slightly below average, but not as bitter as during last week’s ‘cold spell’.

‘Significant’ snow to continue throughout week

Daytime rain followed by evening and night snowfall is set to be repeated on Wednesday (January 17), adding new layers of ice, sludge, and snow to already dangerous roads.

36 departments, all in the north, are at a tier-three orange warning, almost all for snowy/icy road conditions, for January 17.

Snowfall is expected to be around 7cm - 10cm in the north overnight Wednesday - Thursday but could reach up to 20cm in some places in the Hauts-de-France region.

Read more: SEE: Beautiful photos of snow in France

Will temperatures drop alongside snowfall?

Overnight temperatures have been – and will remain – extremely cold in the north due to the snow and bitter winds there.

Temperatures in a number of regions were at their coldest last night since the start of this winter, however only Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin still have grand froid plans in place to protect those most vulnerable to the cold.

Daytime temperatures in the north are not set to be significantly colder than average (due in part to the presence of the warmer Mediterranean winds), although on Wednesday may struggle to reach above 2C before the snow begins.

Temperatures overnight will be cold, at around -3C but could reach up to -5C and below locally.

Temperatures in parts of the south are set to be unseasonably warm throughout the week however.

Wednesday will see temperatures south of Nantes and Auxerre reach at least 13C almost everywhere except mountainous areas, and potentially hit 19C in Biarritz/Pays Basque.

On Thursday, temperatures in the south-west will begin to drop as the cold northerly winds move southwards, however along the Mediterranean coast temperatures are expected to be around 15C - 18C in the day, and possibly 20C in Nice.

Friday onwards temperatures are set to be cool, and around average for the season, with cloudless skies until Sunday evening when there are concerns an Atlantic storm may hit the north.

You can keep up with warnings on the official Météo Francewebsite, with information available on conditions up to 48 hours in advance. Note that these are likely to change throughout the day as more information on weather conditions become available.

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