Will it snow this year at Christmas? Meteorologists are for the moment divided on the question, because the forecasts remain very uncertain a week before. Temperatures will gradually drop, starting this weekend. No more than 2 to 3 degrees on average over a large northeast quarter, with a further drop by the end of next week to settle about 2 degrees below seasonal averages. At the same time, the weather will remain dry for much of next week.
The Weather Channel indicates that a “small risk of snow is not excluded”. Météo France evokes a possibility of rains at the end of the week from the west but adds that “all this is still quite far and it will be necessary to refine the forecast during the next days”.
–
The last, Météo France recalled that “if the popular imagination often associates snow with Christmas, the probability of having snow in the plains during this period is in reality low”.
–
This content is blocked because you have not accepted the trackers.
Clicking on ” I accept “, the plotters will be deposited and you will be able to view the contents .
Clicking on “I accept all tracers”, you authorize the deposit of tracers for the storage of your data on our sites and applications for the purposes of personalization and advertising targeting.
–
–
Where is it most likely to have snow at Christmas?
According to Météo France, the snow recorded regularly in the plains at Christmas marks “a strong geographical disparity which reflects the diversity of climatic zones present in France”. It was in a large north-eastern quarter that it was observed the most times between December 24 and 26, during the period 1950-2019 (about ten times). In the western half of the country, it has only been observed between two and four times in the interior. As for regions with a Mediterranean climate, “the snow at Christmas is naturally exceptional”.
–
Nancy has the best record, with the presence of snow observed 15 times between December 24 and 26 during the period 1950-2019. Then follows Strasbourg (12 times) then Dijon and Clermont-Ferrand (8 times). On the other hand, snow was observed only twice during this period in Limoges, Angers, Toulouse, Nîmes and Montpellier and only once in Marseille.
Can there be heavy snowfall?
It is possible but it is increasingly rare, in large cities in particular. So, you have to go back more than ten years to find a particularly snowy Christmas day in Strasbourg. On December 25, 2010, nearly 26 centimeters of snow fell in the Alsatian capital! There were 15 centimeters in Nancy, reports Météo France.
In 1986, 18 centimeters of snow fell in Strasbourg, 16 centimeters in Lyon and 12 in Dijon. “Since the beginning of the 1990s, snowy episodes in the plains have become rare due to the ongoing climate change,” notes the Weather Channel.
–
