More snow predicted alongside plunging temperatures
Météo France has placed 27 departments on orange alert for snow and ice, as more snowfall and low temperatures are expected, and residents warned to check their routes before travelling.
From Pas-de-Calais in the north to Corrèze in the central-south, passing over Ile-de-France, the national forecaster is continuing to predict snowfall and potentially-dangerous ice today (Friday February 9) “from Hauts-de-France to Limousin”.
The extension to 27 departments on alert comes just one day after there were just eight departments on alert - signalling that more significant weather is imminent across large swathes of the country.
And yet, while three to seven centimetres of snow is expected in most alert areas, this still represents a “lower level of snow” than previously seen earlier in the week, Météo France said.
Certain regions should also be on high alert to the rapidly dropping temperatures and the ice risk they may bring, with -9°C recorded at Chateaudun (Eure-et-Loire), -6.1°C in Reims (Marne),-5°C at Orly (Val-de-Marne) and -4°C à Paris, according to Météo France in its 6am morning bulletin today.
The minister for transport has repeated his warning from earlier in the week, advising drivers not to take their cars unless absolutely necessary, especially in known trouble areas.
Similarly, the Route Nationale 118 (RN118) - which saw 1,500-2,000 cars stuck overnight on Tuesday this week - is closed, and is not expected to re-open until midday this Saturday February 10.
Heavy goods vehicles - which had been re-allowed yesterday - have been prohibited afresh from driving until midday tomorrow.
According to recent reports, urban public transport is slowly getting back to normal after Tuesday’s chaos; the RATP has predicted “normal” traffic on the Métro, while the RER service has been dubbed “almost normal”, depending on the ongoing weather conditions.
Train company SNCF has said it is “slowing returning back to normal” where possible, especially for the Transilien network and on TGV routes.
Yet, morning school buses are still suspended in the Hauts-de-France region, including in Aisne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais and the Somme; while school pick-up vehicles are still not running in Essonne, Yvelines, the Val-d'Oise or in Seine-et-Marne.
The full list of departments affected by the orange snow warning is as follows:
Aisne (02), Cher (18), Corrèze (19), Creuse (23), Eure (27), Eure-et-Loir (28), Indre (36), Indre-et-Loire (37), Loir-et-Cher (41), Loiret (45), Nord (59), Oise (60), Orne (61), Pas-de-Calais (62), Sarthe (72), Paris and the “petite couronne” (75-92-93-94), Seine-Maritime (76), Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Somme (80), Vienne (86), Haute-Vienne (87), Essonne (91) and Val-d'Oise (95).
