The ongoing bad weather in the southern part of France is having consequences in the mountains.
By Wednesday morning, several tens of centimeters of snow are expected locally at altitude.
Above all, snowfall will also take place at low altitude, barely higher than in the plains in places.
According to Météo France, the rain-snow limit is currently at 800 m in the west of the Pyrenees, 1700 m in the east.
In the south of the Alps, it is at 1300 m.
This Tuesday afternoon, “it is snowing in the Massif Central from 800 m to 1000 m, particularly in Lozère where we expect around 5 cm”.
In the Pyrenees, this limit will be located around 800 m to the west of the massif and around 1300 m in its eastern part.
In the southern Alps it will be found around 1500 m.
❄️ It is actively #snowing in the #Pyrenees this Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from 800 meters in the west of the range.
Images from #PiauEngaly station.
(webcam @Viewsurf) pic.twitter.com/wlkz2PrMno
— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) March 26, 2024
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, with the cooling, the limit should drop.
In the Massif Central, the Jura and the Pre-Alps it would be around 400m-500 m.
Keraunos, the French observatory for tornadoes and violent storms, evokes “a layer of heavy and wet snow
(which)
could form”.
The rainy disturbance next night could produce snowfall at low altitude by isotherm between the Massif-Central, the Jura and the Pre-Alps.
From 400/500 m altitude, a layer of heavy and wet snow could form next night.
pic.twitter.com/D5fVB40idA
— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) March 26, 2024
At altitude, accumulations will be significant.
In the Alps, they could locally exceed 50 cm, as shown in this map from The Weather Channel.
❄️Still good accumulations of #snow to be expected by Wednesday morning.
The rain-snow limit will drop this evening and tonight to 800 m.
pic.twitter.com/VAobxKJGuJ
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) March 26, 2024
The Hautes-Alpes and the Mercantour sector are among the most exposed sectors.
Between 10 cm and 20 cm are expected in the Massif Central, up to around forty in the Pyrenees.