Cold set to return to France - and snow at low altitudes across Isère and Haute-Savoie
Storm in south-east forecast to bring up to 80mm of rain on Saturday
Snow at low altitudes is forecast across the Isère, Ain and Haute-Savoie departments. Archive photo shows snow in Isère
jef77 / Shutterstock
A cold turn at the end of the week in France will see chilly morning temperatures return across the north, and snow fall across the southern Alps and Massif Central this weekend.
Mild conditions, in place since mid-January, are to be swept away by polar winds, with a cold period settling in over the weekend.
By the start of next week, temperatures may be 3C below average for mid-March, This follows around seven weeks of temperatures being above average across the country.
Morning temperatures of as low as 0C are forecast in the north and east across the coming days. Several areas saw minus temperatures on Thursday morning and, although they will rise to above seasonal averages in the day, they will quickly drop again at night.
By Sunday, much of the north, east, and centre will be at risk of overnight frosts, impacting gardens and farms that may have seen crops and flowers bloom early in the mild conditions.
By Saturday (March 14), highs of around 5C across the area are forecast, around 10C colder than the warmest temperatures seen at points last week.
The north and west will also see a wet end to the week, with rain sweeping in from the Atlantic to cover much of the area.
South-east battered by storm, snow forecast
Early forecasts of a powerful storm this weekend across the Riviera and Rhône Valley are also in place, with more than 80mm of rain forecast in some areas on Saturday alone, alongside strong winds of up to 80 km/h.
Once the polar winds reach the area on Saturday morning, a sudden drop in temperatures is expected, and will combine with the rain to produce snow at low altitudes.
Areas as low as 300m in altitude may see snow in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and at heights of 1,500m, around 40cm is possible.
Snow is also forecast across the Massif Central, where between 10cm and 20cm may fall.
Heightened weather warnings for the storm may be raised by state forecaster Météo France from Friday morning onwards.
