The cold wave that settled on Monday has already killed two people in France. A “brutal” warmth in the South, before a spring weekend across the country, is however announced.
Up to -10 ° C in the Ain in the early morning with -18 ° C felt under an icy breeze from Siberia: the phenomenon “Moscow-Paris” which has settled in the north and east of France pushing even to the côte-d’Azur, holds all its promises.
As forecast by Meteo France, temperatures have dropped considerably in the lowlands : -10 ° C in Ain, -9 ° C at Basel-Mulhouse airport, -8 ° C in Strasbourg and Nancy, or -3 ° C ° C in Montpellier, -1 ° C in Marseille or -2 ° C in Brest.
The episode does not spare the Côte-d’Azur . In Nice, big flakes sprinkle the famous Promenade des Anglais and its beach. The airport, the second largest in France, also displays some flights canceled or delayed because of the weather, especially to Corsica.
“It’s very rare in Cannes, it’s surprising,” says André. Three departments of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region have been placed in orange alert for snow and ice .
After a month of historically mild January and a snowy beginning of February, this episode of cold, which would be common in the heart of winter, is notable because of its late nature. France had not experienced such a cold snap at this time of the year – late February-early March – since 2005.
Prévisions || Demain mardi sera la journée la plus froide avec des températures au petit matin qui perdront encore localement 1 à 2 degrés, et resteront souvent négatives en journée
👉 https://t.co/Z34IMbj7oV pic.twitter.com/mF9Lvc4xRm— Météo-France (@meteofrance) February 26, 2018
Already two dead
The episode has already killed two people: a homeless 35-year-old Sunday in Valence (Drôme) and another, 62, Friday in his hut of a forest of Yvelines .
In the east of France, charitable organizations are working to identify the most vulnerable people to direct them to the many homes or gyms requisitioned by state services.
These have triggered the “cold weather” plan in 37 departments, with more than 3,100 additional temporary accommodation places for the homeless, including 500 in Paris.
“We are under tension but still able to host,” according to Marie-Dominique Dreyssé, deputy mayor of Strasbourg in charge of territorial social action. The devices put in place can meet 95% of requests even if there are “people who refuse to leave their sidewalk,” she laments.
In Villeurbanne near Lyon, about sixty migrants were evacuated from a “squatt”, threatened by a fire caused by a “means of improvised heating”, according to the municipality. Unscathed, they were sheltered in a gym in the city where they will stay until Thursday or Friday, the time of the cold snap.
Even distress Monday in the area of the ferry terminal of Ouistreham (Calvados) where about thirty Sudanese wrapped themselves warmed hands and feet around three fires in scattered woods.
Giraffes, elephants and hippopotamuses warm
In Paris too, we warm up as well as we can. “I’m offered coffee when I give referrals, it feels good! Smiles Mohamed Rimaoui, a postman who is touring the 10th arrondissement.
“1 euro the pair of gloves, instead of 2 euros, the bargain! “. On the Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) flea market, Jacques Zouni, 38, chose to break prices to attract passers-by. And to hear it, it’s a great success:
“I think I sell a hundred pairs against 20 usually.”
In Amnéville (Moselle), the zoo is on the alert . Giraffes, elephants, hippopotamuses are kept warm, indoors. “The flamingos remain under surveillance, we must be careful that the ice does not imprison them,” said the director Hervé Santerre.
Among the most affected economic sectors, agriculture and especially fruit trees threatened by frost, according to the president of the FNSEA Christiane Lambert. With the key, a possible price increase of a few cents.
Prévisions de la semaine || Après le #GrandFroid, on a rendez-vous avec la #neige https://t.co/apEdwelmjp pic.twitter.com/VGfj4Sa6on
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) February 26, 2018
Redoux “brutal” in the South
After a cold spike expected Tuesday and Wednesday, Météo-France, however, predicts a “brutal” warmth in the South which should spread gradually to the rest of the country before a spring weekend.
“We will go from winter to spring in a week,” predicts forecaster Patrick Galois.
Meanwhile, Météo-France has by Wednesday on -6 ° C minimum -10 ° C over a large eastern half, 0 ° C and -4 ° C near the Mediterranean and -2 ° C and -6 ° C on the West.
This cold snap hit Europe, from Brussels to Moscow and from Rome to Stockholm, killing at least nine people for three days .
