The weather does not have any nice surprises in store for the French for the Christmas holidays, on the contrary.
The countdown is on for the end-of-year holidays with the first stage, Christmas, arriving next Monday. The end of year holidays are a busy time in terms of traffic with families getting together and people going on vacation. For short or long journeys in prospect, the ideal would be clear and clear weather to make travel less painful, for drivers and passengers and especially for impatient young people. But this year, the road to the festivities may be rainy.
For the week of December 25 until the last day of 2023, Météo France forecasts weather that is “slightly disturbed in the north and drier in the south, with temperatures remaining above seasonal values.” Temperatures will therefore be mild, between 3°C and 16°C for December 24 and will oscillate between 1°C and 17°C on Christmas Day. Mild temperatures which should also mark the start of the year 2024. Météo France is indeed forecasting temperatures “generally above seasonal norms” for the first week of January.
But despite pleasant temperatures during this holiday season, rain will be expected over most of the territory. The entire northern part of France will be under the rain on December 24 and 25 as well as Corsica. Two thirds of the territory should be affected by episodes of rain… From Sunday morning, the north, north east and central east, from Hauts-de-France via the Grand-Est to Auvergne-Rhône- Alps will see rain falling until the afternoon. In the west, Brittany will also be in the rain for New Year’s Eve.
The north should nevertheless experience a slight lull on Christmas morning with a few rare rays of sunshine before falling back into grayness in the afternoon, according to Météo France. On December 25, the day will be marked by a thick gray sky punctuated by showers in the morning, particularly in the east and in the center of the country.
There will, however, be a few exceptions and some lucky people will have the pleasure of unwrapping their gifts under the sun. These are the departments on the Mediterranean coast. From Nice via Montpellier and Perpignan to Tarbes, the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Occitanie regions will see the sun shine on December 24 and 25.
The regions of Gap and Montélimar will also be under the sun for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Biarritz will enjoy the sun for New Year’s Eve, but will be overtaken by rain on December 25.