Snow and ice alerts in Alpine departments
Météo France warns of difficult travelling conditions in mountains, while northwestern France braces for a stormy new year
Forecaster Météo France has placed four Alpine departments on orange alert for snow and ice.
Hours after it lifted orange avalanche alerts in the Pyrénées, Météo France warned residents and visitors in Hautes-Alpes, Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie to be aware of difficult weather conditions over the next 24 hours.
The Savoie is also on orange alert for avalanches.
The forecaster said that although snowfall at mid-altitude will not be exceptional, it warned that it could still pose problems for motorists, especially as many people will be returning home from Christmas skiing holidays. The weather warning is in place until 7am on Sunday at the earliest.
Several ski resorts in the Pyrénées were forced to close after heavy snow and strong winds combined to raise the avalanche risk earlier this week.
Several New Year's Eve events in Brittany, including an annual sea swim, have been cancelled as the region braces for Storm Carmen, which is expected to make landfall on Monday.
Gusts of up to 80kph are expected in Finistère and Morbihan on Saturday, and winds are forecast to become increasingly violent over the weekend, with New Year's Day itself marked by heavy rain and winds of up to 110kph.
On Friday, a 60-year-old man was seriously injured when he was hit by a trampoline that had been caught in a freak gust of wind in Sibiril, northern Finistère. He was taken to hospital in Brest for treatment.
