The first flakes of Storm Caetano fell on Thursday morning in northwestern France, as winter descends on France, where 58 departments are on orange alert for snow, ice and wind. this storm “It will cross France from west to east and will cause a winter episode early and notable enough to make traffic conditions difficult in the affected regions.”indicates Météo-France on its website.
Orne, where according to the prefect around thirty salt spreaders work, seems especially affected, since ten traffic accidents have been recorded due to the snowfall at 10:00 a.m. and traffic. “possible but difficult” on the RN 12 (Alençon-Mortagne-au-Perche and Alençon-Lalacelle axes).
Bison Futé reported at 10 in the morning that traffic was “very delicate” among others by the A84 (Calvados and Manche), the N 12 (Orne, Mayenne, Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d’Armor), the N 176 (Côtes-d’Armor, Ille-et-Villaine and La Manche), A28 (Eure and Orne), Caen ring road and N 158 (Calvados and Orne).
In some places temperatures should be close to those of January. Météo-France has put 58 departments on orange alert, of which 33 for snow and ice, mainly in the north of the country and in the Alps, and 25 for wind, from Loire-Atlantique to Gironde and then in a line that goes up to Savoy . , including the two departments of Corsica.
“In Ile-de-France, 1 to 5 cm is expected, locally 5 to 10 cm in the south of the region”continues Météo-France, which adds that the snowfall “They are also expected at low altitude in the Southern Alps”. Further south, the wind will blow strongly with “Gusts generally between 100 and 120 km/h on the coast of the departments placed under orange surveillance” and inwards, until “more than 150 km/h at the highest points of the Alps”.
School transportation suspended
SNCF Réseau estimated on Thursday morning that “The monitoring point is the new Aquitaine, where several lines are interrupted as a precaution in the Bordeaux region due to strong winds”. According Western Francerail traffic between Le Mans and Laval is interrupted.
From 11 a.m., the movement of trucks over 7.5 tons is restricted, with a reduced speed of 20 km/h in Calvados, Côtes-d’Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, La Manche, Morbihan, Orne and Sarthe, Cher, Eure, Eure et Loir, Loir et Cher, Loiret and also that in Ile-de-France on the main roads. School transport is suspended on Thursday in Orne, Manche, Calvados, Eure and Eure-et-Loir.
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The Loire-Atlantique department warned mid-morning that the Saint-Nazaire bridge could be closed between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. if the measured gusts exceed 120 km/h.
Strong winds could also cause avalanches in the Alps. “Extreme vigilance is required when practicing all mountain activities and especially skiing or snowshoeing” and Haute Savoie “The risk of avalanches is 4 out of 5 in the Mont-Blanc massif”the prefecture reported.
