Warm weather to give way to 10° temperature drop in France this week
The cold snap, beginning on April 1, will come with rain and even snow in some areas
France’s recent warm weather is set to come to a sudden end this week
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The warm, sunny weather which France has been enjoying recently is set to come to a sudden end this week, as temperatures drop by 10 degrees, bringing rain and even snow to some areas.
Between Tuesday and Wednesday (March 29-30) the anticyclone which has kept temperatures mild over the month of March will move on, being replaced from April 1 by a cold front descending from Scandinavia towards France.
Today (March 28), the weather will remain warm, reaching 20 degrees in the afternoon. Tomorrow will see clouds gathering over three quarters of the country, with showers in the afternoon in all areas save the east and south east. In Brittany, the weather may even become stormy.
The rain will arrive in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Corsica on Wednesday, and temperatures will drop across the country, in a trend which continues into Thursday.
On Friday, episodes of sleet could occur even in low-lying areas and precipitation will fall as snow from 800m above sea level. Snow showers are most likely to occur in Ile-de-France and in the east of the country.
Along the Mediterranean coast, the mistral and tramontane winds will bring gusts of up to 100km/h or 140km/h in Corsica.
By the end of the week, temperatures will generally be sitting between seven and 12 degrees, but the wind may make it feel even colder. In the Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central, the temperature could drop to freezing on Friday afternoon, while in Paris and Lyon they will reach three degrees.
The rainfall expected for the end of the week is good news for French farmland, which has now been deprived of water for around a month. However, the possibility of freezing temperatures could prove fatal to some crops.
You can read the weather forecast in greater detail (in French) on weather service website Chaîne Météo.
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