Ile-de-France on Alert for Snow and Ice, Caution on the Roads

While waiting for Sunday’s mild weather, the Minister of Transport calling for “caution” particularly on the roads of the eight departments of Ile-de-France

The eight departments of Ile-de-France will be on orange alert for snow and ice during the night from Saturday to Sunday, with the Minister of Transport calling for “caution” especially on the roads.

Météo-France expects snowfall in the evening throughout the region, for this first cold episode of the season. Orange alert applies from 8 p.m. until Sunday morning.

Little snow but lots of ice

According to Météo-France, “a rainy disturbance is entering through Brittany”, which “will progress slowly towards the east and […] will approach a large central strip of the country”: “In contact with colder air, the Precipitation will be in the form of snow or locally freezing rain.

Ground resistance is expected with 5 to 7 cm in the western half of the Paris region and 2 to 5 cm in the eastern half. For Paris and the Petite-Couronne, 1 to 2 cm of snow on the ground are expected, according to the organization’s website, which specifies that the snow should “melt from midday thanks to a clear redoux”.

The question of roads

“The first episodes are sometimes not taken seriously enough and there are difficulties due to a lack of caution. We therefore wanted to intervene upstream to inform” the public, said Saturday the minister, Philippe Tabarot, from the crisis center bringing together the services of Météo France, Infrastructure, Civil Aviation, Roads, the Police Prefecture and transport operators.

“The main question is the question of roads”, he told reporters.

” People understood that if their travel was not essential, it was better to postpone it. And for those who are obliged to travel today, in particular from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. tomorrow, they are asked to find out about the situation of the network, to equip themselves and to equip their vehicle. And then of course caution is the main message I want to convey. “

Reduced speed

The authorized speed throughout Ile-de-France will be reduced by 20 km/h for all vehicles, and overtaking prohibited on major roads for heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes and passenger transport vehicles, decided the police headquarters.

On the other hand, according to the minister, “trains will not be particularly impacted, and urban and interurban networks […] are currently operating”. As for airports, where conditions affect visibility, there is around an hour delay on Roissy flights, this is likely to also be the case tomorrow (Sunday), these are episodes which unfortunately happen very often throughout throughout the year.