The essential
- Gusts up to 158 km / h, falling trees, power cuts and disruptions to the rail network: after the exceptional mildness of the start of the year, the winter depression Gérard swept across northern France on Monday.
- For the day of Tuesday, strong winds are expected this time on the South-West, from Spain, at the start of the day with the depression Fien which will circulate “very quickly from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean basin”, according to Météo-France . Gers, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées were placed on orange alert on Tuesday.
- The snowfalls which began Monday morning on the central massif, planned to hold on the ground from 600 to 800 m above sea level, justified orange vigilance in the departments of Cantal and Lozère on Monday, to which Ain , Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie will be added on Tuesday.
11:30 p.m .: This live is now over, thank you for watching.
10:30 p.m.: 15,000 homes still without electricity
Less than 15,000 customers were still without electricity at 9:30 p.m., six times less than at the end of the morning, “mainly in Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Center Val-de-Loire, Burgundy and Alsace Franche Comté”, according to the manager of the Enedis network which has deployed 2,000 personnel and contractors in the field.
For its part, the SNCF has identified “more than 30 incidents” linked to the Gérard storm, sometimes due to trees falling on the tracks.
7:45 p.m.: No school transport tomorrow in Cantal
The Cantal prefecture has banned the circulation of school and passenger transport on the roads of the department for the whole day of Tuesday because of the risks associated with snow and ice. The provision does not apply to the urban buses of Aurillac and Arpajon-sur-Cère, it is specified in a press release. The authorities recall that all vehicles circulating in Cantal on the roads of the department, the motorway, national and departmental network, are subject to the obligation to wear special equipment.
Traffic restrictions for heavy goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes and public transport (outside school and extracurricular activities) are also planned for Tuesday morning in Ardèche (in yellow vigilance).
5:15 p.m.: 45,000 households still without electricity
Météo-France has lifted orange vigilance for strong winds throughout the territory. But some 45,000 customers were still without electricity at 3 p.m., twice as many as at the end of the morning, two-thirds of them in the West and the Center, according to the network manager Enedis.
For its part, the SNCF has identified “more than 30 incidents” linked to the Gérard storm, sometimes due to trees falling on the tracks, in Brittany, Normandy, Pays de la Loire and Center Val-de-Loire, as well as in Seine-et-Marne and Champagne-Ardennes.
4:25 p.m .: Thirteen departments in orange vigilance for the day of Tuesday
Météo France also indicated on Monday that it had placed thirteen departments in orange vigilance for the day of Tuesday, January 17.
L’Aïnthe Haute-Savoiethe Savoy and theIsere will be placed on orange vigilance because of the snow and icejust like the Cantal and the Lozere. In question: the snowfall which began Monday morning on the central massif, planned to hold on the ground from 600 to 800 m above sea level. In the coming days, snow is expected in quantity and at low altitude on most of the massifs, in particular the south of the Massif Central and on the Alps from 600 to 800 m, from 1,000 to 1,200 m on the Pyrenees, and 500 m on the Vosges and the Jura.
In the South-West, four departments will also be on orange alert: the Landes (rain-flood, wind), the Pyrenees-Atlantiques (rain-flood, wind), the Gers (wind) and the Hautes-Pyrenees (wind). The Fien depression will circulate “very quickly from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean basin”, according to Météo-France. In the North-East, snow is also expected on the first plateaus from 300 to 400 m.
the Var will also be placed on orange alert for the risk of “waves-submersion”. Corsica will also be on orange alert: the Upper Corsica for “rain-flood” and the South Corsica for “rain-flood” and “waves-submergence”. An episode “requiring special vigilance”, according to Météo-France.
4:20 p.m.: Five departments placed on orange alert
In its 4 p.m. bulletin, Météo France kept Cantal and Lozère on orange alert this Monday because of snow and ice, as did Pas-de-Calais for the risk of flooding.
The forecaster also placed the departments of Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques on orange alert for “rain-flooding”.
1:55 p.m .: A motorist dies after hitting a fallen tree on the road
A sixty-year-old motorist died on Monday in Gironde after hitting a fallen tree during the night, “probably” because winds linked to the winter depression which affected a large quarter of northwestern France, firefighters said.
Read also: Gérard storm: a motorist dies after hitting a fallen tree on the road
1:37 p.m .: Only 3 departments left in orange
“The Gérard depression is moving away and gradually filling up,” indicates Météo France. Cantal and Lozère are still on orange alert due to snow and ice. And the Pas-de-Calais is placed on alert because of the risk of flooding.
12:20 p.m.: From 75,000 to 90,000 customers without electricity
The situation is getting worse: some 90,000 customers were without electricity on Monday at 11 a.m., two-thirds of them in the West, according to the network manager Enedis.
10:32 am: More than 17 departments in orange
In the middle of the morning, 14 departments in the northern half of France are still placed in orange vigilance because of the strong winds. Lozère and Cantal are still affected by orange vigilance because of snow and ice. A department is concerned by vigilance because of the risk of flooding.
9:01 a.m.: 75,000 homes without electricity
Some 75,000 customers were without electricity this morning, particularly in Normandy, Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, according to the network manager Enedis.
8:34 am: Disturbances on the rail
SNCF reported some traffic difficulties due to trees falling on the tracks, particularly in the Pays de la Loire, Île-de-France and Normandy, where some trains “did not leave this morning” on time to check the condition of the tracks, explained a spokesperson.
6:07 am: New departments on orange alert
The update of the weather conditions, published by Météo France at 6 a.m. this Monday, announces a vigilance exit for Finistère, Morbihan, Indre-et-Loire, Indre, Loir-et-Cher, Maine -et-Loire and the Cher. But new departments are now affected by the “strong wind” alert: Loiret, the whole of the Ile de France with the exception of Val-d’Oise, Yonne, Aube and Marne.
5:58 a.m.: snowfall on the Massif Central
Snowfall has started on the Massif Central. Lozère and Cantal were placed on snow-ice vigilance by Météo France yesterday, and are still on Monday morning.
5:45 am: Strong winds in the west
On Sunday, Météo France had placed 24 departments on orange alert due to high winds or snow and ice. The northwest quarter of the country was particularly affected, due to strong winds.
We recorded this night: 158 km / h at the Pointe du Raz (Finistère), 148 km / h at the island of Groix (Morbihan), 145 km / h at Barneville (Manche), 135 km / h at Ouessant ( Finistère), 122 km/h at La Hague (Manche), 125 km/h at St-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), 100 to 130 km/h on the nearby coastal area of Charente-Maritime.