Paris’ biggest airport has been told to cancel 10% of its outgoing flights on Thursday after Storm Caetano swept across France, bringing snow and ice.
Northern regions experienced temperatures around 5C, below the seasonal average, prompting orange weather warnings for 28 out of the country’s 96 departments, including Paris, Cote-d’Or and Mayenne.
The storm, which also affected Spain and Portugal, blanketed most of northern France in snow yesterday. Strong winds along the West Coast led to widespread disruption, including the cancellation of approximately 60 flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, causing headaches for off-season travellers.
The misery looks to continue today, with FlightAware reporting that 29 flights will be cancelled and a further 158 delayed from the aviation hub. While weather alerts have been lifted for central Paris this morning, snow and icy rain is forecast to continue for much of the day.
Those travelling to or from France this weekend should keep an eye on weather updates and information from their airline or train company before their journey, as the chance of more delays and cancellations is significant.
Yesteday National rail service SNCF reported hour-long delays on train networks, including the high-speed TGV line connecting Paris with western areas. Strike action scheduled for the same day exacerbated the rail disruption, although local reports suggested that the weather was primarily responsible for the delays.
Le Parisien reported over 300km of traffic jams around Paris on Thursday, with numerous incidents and local authorities warning of reduced speed limits. The newspaper revealed that the adverse weather caused by Storm Caetano resulted in 179 injuries, with four people in critical condition, after trees fell onto cars and roads, disrupting travel across the English Channel.
The electricity provider revealed that over 270,000 homes across the country were left in the dark after the brunt of the storm passed through, with 90,000 of those affected residing in the Normandy region. The snow first made its appearance early on Wednesday in western areas, leading to a temporary closure of the iconic Eiffel Tower, blanketed in snow, until 1pm on Thursday, reports the Express.
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Locals were put on alert to brace for up to 3cm of snow in Paris suburbs by Thursday evening, and temperatures across France plummeted to below 10C, with some areas recording lows of 5C. A weather warning for northern and western areas was lifted on Friday morning after being implemented for regions around Paris at 6am on Thursday.
On Thursday Disneyland was blanketed in snow, adding an extra magical layer to the dream factory.
The weather forecast is not looking much cheerier in the UK this weekend. The Met Office named the fearsome front on Thursday, issuing an amber weather warning in one part of the country and yellow warnings in all but two. At its worst, Storm Bert will bring heavy rain and snow, together with strong winds, to large swathes of the country.
The centre of the impact will be in Scotland, where an area between Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness will be at risk of power cuts and disruptive snowfall. Travel delays on the roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers, while mobile phone connection may cut out for some.
Those on the roads and bicycle paths have been warned to be wary of icy patches, while delays on the rails and at airports are likely. Up to 20cm of snow is forecast to fall in areas up to 200m above sea level, and around 40cm is predicted for those higher in the hills.
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