Spring Snow in South France!
Orange weather Alert from Meteo France for parts of the South of France….
Snow-Ice Storm
Ongoing phenomenon.
End phenomenon scheduled on Monday 08 March 2010 in 19h00
Location:
Andorra (99), Aude (11), Hérault (34), Pyrénées-Orientales (66) in the South of France.
Details:
Remarkable snowy episode, especially for a first week of March. Episode generating traffic problems and disrupting economic activities.
Current situation and observed data:
In the Rhone valley (part of the Rhone Bouches-du-Rhone and Vaucluse) and the Gard, the episode is over. 20 to 30 cm of snow, sometimes 40 cm. At low altitude, the snow was heavy.
On the Herault, even if the active part of the disturbance tends to be confined on the third of the department, snowfall of less intensity still persists in the rest of the department. Snow 15 to 20 cm over 2 / 3 in the Herault, the hills on the western third will be similar (15 to 20 cm).
In the Aude and Pyrenees-Orientales, precipitation intensified and reached the local coastline.
Changes:
On Monday, the disruption of snow will continue to shift westward, gradually saving Herault. But by early afternoon, likely end of the episode on the Hérault, it may still fall 10 to 15 cm on the western third of the department and 1 to 3 cm to the east, which 10/20 would locally 30 cm throughout the episode.
Aude, Pyrenees-Orientales and Andorra: Episode snowy asset continues into the evening. Rainfall is heavy and falls as snow in the mountains, particularly the Corbières and the Pyrenees foothills, but also in plain and even on the coast. The heights of snow expected on the episode reach 20 to 40 cm in plains (locally and coast), and even 60 to 80 cm or 1 m in the mountains. The snow is heavy and sticky, sometimes below 500 m altitude.
Note that this precipitation occurs with winds from the north is sometimes strong and gusty with two consequences:
1 / Local drifts.
2 / High waves are likely to affect the coasts of the Aude and Pyrenees-Orientales, from the afternoon of Monday 8 and particularly in Monday night. A wave of 4 m is expected on the largest shoreline and waves of 6 to 7 m are possible on the coast of rocky Pyrenees-Orientales.