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Big freeze on the horizon for much of France this weekend

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Big freeze on the horizon for much of France this weekend
A child plays with the snow in the gardens of the Versailles' castle, in February 2021 (Photo by Martin BUREAU / AFP)

Winter has made its way to France, with below-freezing temperatures expected across much of the country this weekend.

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Cold air from northern Europe will fall over a large part of mainland France, according to French weather forecaster Météo France.

The north of the country, primarily above the horizontal line running from Nantes to Lyon, is expected to see consistent temperatures, "with lows falling to -2C or -3C and highs around 3C until Monday."

Parts of northern France may also experience snowfall and icy conditions this weekend, starting from Thursday night into Friday.

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The départements most likely to be affected are in the country's centre and east. Some have been placed in the "yellow" warning category, as shown below:

A screenshot from Meteo France, showing départements in the "yellow" warning category for Friday, December 9th

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As for the south of France, the maximum average temperature is expected to be around 10C for Friday and to drop to around 7C and 6C for Saturday and Sunday," Météo France forecaster Florian Hortala told Franceinfo. Though warmer weather will likely be present in Basque country and along the Mediterranean, according to TF1.

Nevertheless - Hortala told Franceinfo that the cold weather is still not chilly enough to constitute a "cold wave," as temperatures are not low enough below seasonal norms. To be considered a "cold wave" the average national temperature must fall below -2C at least once, and remain under 0.9C for at least three days without going above 2.2C.

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