Lately, the mercury has been going up and down. While temperatures are expected to rise back above seasonal normals this Sunday, the cold is taking hold over a large part of the country this Saturday, January 4, with a risk of snow forecast for several French departments.
As a result, on January 4, 2025, Météo France placed 30 départements under a " snow-verglas " orange vigilance, mainly in the north and northeast of the country."A disturbance associated with a lot of mild air will sweep across the whole country in a south-west / north-east direction, this Saturday and Saturday night" announces the weather service. "This disturbance will encounter a mass of cold air, causing snowfalls and above all freezing rain for a few hours, just long enough for the mild air to move in for good," adds Météo France.
Seine-Maritime, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Aisne, Oise, Ardennes, Marne, Meuse, Haute-Marne, Moselle, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Territoire de Belfort and Vosges have been placed under orange "snow-verglas" alert this Saturday, January 4.
What about the situation in Paris and the Ile-de-France region? Météo France has placed Paris and the 7 other departments in the Paris region (Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Val-d'Oise) under a " neige-verglas " orange alert this January 4, 2025. This orange alert is valid from around 7pm.
According to Météo France, this disturbance will move up over the Paris region this Saturday evening, crossing it from southwest to northeast. "It is associated with a powerful thaw that will initially overhang the cold air at the surface", explains the weather service, adding that"the expected precipitation could therefore be in the form of snow, followed by freezing rain, which could make roads slippery".
But many uncertainties remain at this stage, notably concerning the maintenance of cold air at the surface"conditioning the nature of the expected precipitation (snow, freezing rain/on frozen ground, or liquid rain)", says the weather service.
A few flakes could therefore fall in the evening in north-eastern Val-d'Oise and northern Seine-et-Marne. Freezing rain is also forecast for Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne. According to Météo France, the most urbanized areas, including Paris, may be"less affected by these slippery phenomena due to less cold ground".
For the time being, these are only forecasts. We advise you to keep abreast of changes in these forecasts and of future updates to the vigilance map. You should also be extremely cautious when traveling, and if possible, avoid taking the car in certain départements where icy patches are forecast.
Official website
meteofrance.com
