Snow and ice: 26 departments placed in orange vigilance

Météo-France forecasts snowfall on Saturday from the north of the country - from the North, to the Ardennes, Ile-de-France and Burgundy - and has placed 26 departments on orange vigilance for snow-ice before a warm spell in the night from Saturday to Sunday.

Orange vigilance concerns the departments going from the center-east, from the Rhône, to the Pas de Calais in the north, passing through the entire Ile de France (75-92-93-94, 77,78 91 and 95).

Corrèze is also on orange alert.

26 deposits in #vigilanceOrange

Stay informed on https://t.co/CSYEovTI83pic.twitter.com/A65wdCBlVN

- VigiMeteoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) January 16, 2021

In the morning, temperatures are negative over a large part of the country.

Frosts are particularly severe in Lorraine with often -10 to -15 degrees.

The first snows will arrive through Normandy and Ile-de-France this Saturday morning.

Net warms at the end of the day

After the generalized morning frosts, we wait for the establishment for a few hours of this snowy episode.

The expected quantities are between 1 and 3 cm locally 5 cm, particularly in Ile-de-France, even occasionally between 5 and 10 cm in the most eastern and northern areas.

During the afternoon, this precipitation will then be in the form of mixed rain and snow, or even temporarily with some freezing precipitation, before a marked warming up at the end of the day.

In the eastern regions, the episode will begin in the middle of the afternoon and will continue in the first part of the night.

5 to 10 cm are expected, a freezing episode is also possible during the night in these regions.

On the Lyonnais, the snowy episode will give a few centimeters in the first part of the night.

In the west of the Massif Central, an episode of marked freezing rain is expected in the first part of the night.

It is the department of Corrèze which is the most exposed, in particular at altitudes above 400m.