Freezing rain began to affect an axis going from Upper Normandy to Alsace on Wednesday January 17, making traffic complicated in the north of France. The movement of heavy goods vehicles was gradually banned from west to east in the northern third of France on the night of Tuesday January 16 to Wednesday January 17, the government announced.
The Trente departments from Brittany to Alsace are on orange snow-ice or rain-flood alert, according to the Météo-France bulletin at 10 a.m. “Freezing rains are recorded on an axis going from Upper Normandy to Picardy, Lorraine and Alsace. The road and motorway networks are made very slippery in these areas, particularly in the Grand-Est region”warns the meteorological institute.
“Traffic conditions will be very difficult in the departments placed on orange alert, possibly for a relatively long period of time”, adds the forecaster. The prefect of the Grand-Est region, Josiane Chevalier, extended the ban on the circulation of heavy goods vehicles until midday.
Like many prefectures, that of Meurthe-et-Moselle has invited motorists to postpone their trips, because “material accidents are numerous” Wednesday morning. In the Marne, “traffic conditions are extremely difficult throughout the country (…), including on highways »also reports the prefecture.
School transport suspended in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Wednesday morning, the freezing rains persisted along an axis Seine-Maritime – Picardy – Champagne – Ardennes – Lorraine – Alsace, and continuing to progress slowly towards the North: they correspond to the south of the departments of Nord and Pas-de- Calais where they gradually transform into snow.
Snow accumulations could reach 7 to 10 centimeters, locally 15 centimeters in Hauts-de-France and Seine-Maritime. For the night from Wednesday to Thursday and the day of Thursday, we expect accumulations of around 2 to 3 centimeters, and 5 to 6 centimeters in the Paris region, Champagne-Ardenne and Normandy.
The Hauts-de-France region has also decided to suspend “total” of school and intercity transport traffic on Wednesday, with partial resumptions on Thursday “depending on changing weather conditions”. In schools, minimal reception will be provided for families who cannot look after their children.
Classes were suspended in many middle and high schools on Wednesday and Thursday. “Heads of establishments are asked to organize a minimum reception and to favor educational continuity” over these two days, “as well as the return home of boarding students”declared the rectorate of the Lille academy.
School bus services are also suspended in Doubs, Bas-Rhin, Moselle, Meuse, Haut-Rhin, Territoire de Belfort, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Côte-d’Or, outside the metropolis of Dijon. In Normandy, the region announced “supports all school services and commercial lines”, Wednesday. However, middle and high schools will remain open.
Waste collection stationary in Rouen
The Rouen Normandy Metropolis has suspended waste collection, and the Aisne prefecture has recommended that residents “favor teleworking” and of “defer or limit” their movements.
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Furthermore, bans on the circulation of heavy goods vehicles affect farmers in particular. “Milk collection is at a standstill throughout the region” of Hauts-de-France, warns Jean-Christophe Rufin, breeder and vice-president of the FDSEA du Nord, stressed that part of the milk milk had to be thrown away if the refrigerated trucks did not pass for forty-eight hours.
The mild weather is gaining ground from the south, and rain will follow freezing precipitation from the Paris region to the southern half of the Grand-Est region during the morning, while it will continue to snow in the North and Pas-de. -Calais. During the afternoon, cold air will regain ground in the north of the country, and snow will replace rain or freezing rain, initially from Normandy to the south of Picardy, then in the evening over the Ile-de-France, Lower Normandy and northern Center-Val-de-Loire.