More snow forecast in France amid alerts for snow, ice and avalanches

More snow is on its way in France as 36 departments from the east to the southwest are placed on yellow alert for snow and ice, with the alerts set to last until at least tomorrow morning (December 7).

Snow will be seen especially in the foothills of mountainous regions, including Jura, Vosges and the Alps. By Thursday (December 9), snow is forecast to arrive at a low altitude in the Pyrenees.

Snow is also expected in Reims, Belfort, Chaumont and Metz later in the week, and by Friday it is expected in Strasbourg, Chalon-sur-Saône and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

Across Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the weather is set to alternate between snow and rain, especially in Lyon and across the Massif central.

Snowy conditions have already caused some disruption; the A89 was closed to HGVs on Sunday (December 5) evening, one week after some vehicles became stuck on the same road due to drifts.

Significant parts of the east of the country are experiencing heavy rain, which will become snow from 600m altitude in Auvergne, and as low as 300m in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Ardennes.

The departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées are on orange alert (second-most severe level) for avalanches as more snow is forecast. Snow will continue to fall at 700m in the morning, and at 2,000 metres from the afternoon.

The alerts are set to stay in place for most of the week, but temperatures will rise by the weekend, especially in the south.

The forecast predicts that temperatures will vary from 2C in Belfort, to as high as 14C in Ajaccio, 5C in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, and up to 15C in Perpignan.

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