Orange alert extended to 47 departments

Snowstorms, black ice and howling winds have forced Météo France to extend its orange weather alert to 47 departments – with a total of 72 departments operating ‘Grand Froid’ programmes to help people in difficulty.

The orange alert overnight for Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Aveyron, Gard, Haute-Garonne , Hérault, Lozère, Tarn and Var was extended today to Aube, Calvados, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Cher, Côte-d'Or, Côtes-d'Armor, Eure-et-Loir, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Manche, Haute-Marne, Mayenne, Morbihan, Nièvre, Orne, Saône-et-Loire, Sarthe, Paris and Ile-de-France departments, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne, Yonne, Essonne and Val-d'Oise.

With temperatures under zero across large parts of the country, four deaths have so far been reported with a 90-year-old woman discovered frozen to death at the front door of the retirement home where she lived in Ain. Three men have also been found dead in Drôme, Yvelines and Savoie.

Drivers are warned to take extra care – and avoid roads if they can – while council and social workers are trying to locate and help homeless people to shelters as part of the Grand Froid plan.

With fierce winds lashing Haute-Garonne and Tarn this afternoon speeds of up to 110kph are being reported on Corsica with 70-80kph off south-western Mediterranean coasts.

Biarritz has snow lying on its beach – and 10cm lying in the streets – while there is also snow on the beach across the other end of the Pyrénées at Palavas-les-Flots (Hérault) where snow is falling heavily.

Temperatures yesterday were 10C below normal across the country and the average of -3.2C made it the coldest day of the winter so far – and it was followed by the coldest night with temperatures below zero everywhere except the Côte d'Azur and Corsica.

However, temperatures will start to rise from the south-west later this afternoon reaching 11C in the Pays Basques, 10C in Roussillon, and 3-8C in the south-east.