Weather: polar air and snow in France for April 1st, and it’s not a joke!

” In April, don’t uncover yourself with a thread”, this saying will be taken very seriously for the first day of the month, Friday. From Thursday, the flow will turn northeast, withair cold from theArcticthen Scandinavia.

From summer to winter in 4 days

If the temperatures were worthy of the start of summer at the start of the week (23 to 24°C in the north and in the south), they will go down to mid-winter levels this Friday and Saturday. At the end of the week, it will be 5 to 10°C in the afternoon, except in the south-east, a weather report worthy of January. the gel morning will be back, between -1 and -6°C, and could therefore cause damage to vegetation, particularly in central France. The mildness of the last few days has accelerated the growth of plants, but most have not started their bud burst (opening of buds), which should limit damage to vines, cherry trees and plum trees.

This type of sudden weather change is not surprising at this time of year: it is common during the shoulder seasons (spring and autumn) and the return of cold and snow in early April is a classic phenomenon, sometimes forgotten after a period of sweetness like the one we have just known.

First snow in the winter plain for the Paris region

This is a first since the start of winter for many departments in the north and center, the snow should appear on the plain between this Thursday March 31 and this Friday 1^er April. Far from being a joke of the 1^er April, this phenomenon could complicate travel on Friday morning. The snowfall should start in the north on Thursday morning before spreading towards the center of the country. Forecasting is very difficult and still subject to change, both in terms of the intensity of the phenomenon and the precise location, but ” accumulations of 5 cm and locally 10 cm are possible in many departments of the northern half of the country. This snow will be accompanied by a fairly strong wind, causing snowdrifts. In the south of the country, the limit between rain and snow will also drop very low, especially in the Pyrenean foothills and the south of the central massif”, specifies Météo France this Tuesday.

Despite a weather forecast which will only be confirmed between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, Meteo France already assesses the risk of snow on the plain at 70% on Thursday evening in Seine-Maritime, Eure, Ile-de-France (including Paris), Oise, Somme, Pas-de-Calais and North. The same probability of snow is envisaged for Friday morning in Aisne, Somme, Oise, the Paris region, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Indre-et-Loire, Cher and Loir -and-Cher. Depending on the location and time of arrival of the disturbance, it is currently difficult to say whether the snow will hold on the ground in the plain, in particular in the Paris region where it will probably be mixed with rain on Thursday evening. . The plateaus and hills located from 200/300 meters on the other hand will most likely be covered with a slight coat white Friday morning. In the mountains, snow will fall abundantly between Thursday and Friday from 800 meters on all massifs.

The weekend then promises to be drier, but the risk of frost will be very high on Saturday and Sunday morning, and potentially destructive for certain crops.