France puts 11 departments on orange alert for snow and ice

The warning comes as temperatures dropped well below the seasonal average this weekend

A view of houses in snow in Haute-Savoie

Snow is expected in a range of mountain regions including in Haute-Savoie

As_trofey / Shutterstock

Hannah Thompson Hannah Thompson

Published Sunday 28 November 2021 - 10:42 Modified Sunday 28 November 2021 - 10:42

11 departments in France are on orange (second-most severe) weather snow and ice alert, including in the mountain regions of the Pyrenees, Alps, and Massif central, with up to 40cm of snow expected.

The departments on snow and ice alert are: Creuse, Corrèze, Puy-de-Dôme, Ain, Isère, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Ariège and Haute-Garonne.

In addition, the department of Pas-de-Calais is on orange alert for flooding, and yellow alert for rain and snow, meaning 12 departments in total are on orange alert.

🔶 12 dpts en #vigilanceOrange

Restez informés sur https://t.co/rJ24zzmmy4 pic.twitter.com/lQNdjzK0g2
— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) November 28, 2021

In the Alps and Jura regions, as much as 20-40cm of snow is expected, while in the Massif central between 10-30cm is forecast.

It comes as temperatures dropped considerably this weekend, to between 2-3C below the seasonal average, and as low as -6C in some areas today (Sunday November 28).