Sub-zero all day for most of France

GLACIAL weather continues to affect much of the eastern part of France with sub-zero temperatures expected all day in much of the country.

By 13.00 they could reach 3C on the Riviera and 1C in Brittany, however in the rest of the country they will vary from -2 to -6 (Alsace).

They dropped as low as -14 in some areas last night and, as people tried to heat houses, electricity consumption hit 96.377MW at 19.00 - almost as much as the record in December 2010, 96.710MW.

For the first time, the far south-west is among the areas affected by an orange alert for cold (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Ariège), though the far south-east is no longer at risk. There are 39 departments affected compared to 41 yesterday.

The south-western areas are also those that today are most at risk from snow and black ice today.

Météo France says we can expect a very cold but mainly dry day, with blue skies and sun in much of France, but a freezing north wind.

Photo: Météo France