Overview
- The week opens largely sunny but cold, with highs near 4°C in Paris while Mediterranean cities reach the low to mid-teens and widespread overnight freezes grip the interior.
- Observed lows early Monday included severe frosts near -11°C in parts of the northeast, underscoring the entrenched cold across much of the country.
- On New Year’s Day, precipitation is expected across the northern half with rain along Manche and Brittany coasts and a chance of flakes at low altitude in the northeast, as mistral and tramontane gusts near 60 km/h chill Mediterranean areas.
- By late week, an east-sourced polar air mass is forecast to deepen the cold and raise the likelihood of low-elevation snowfall in central and eastern regions, with snow considered likely in the Vosges, Jura and northern Alps.
- The GFS model flags a possible broader snowfall episode over central France toward the weekend, a scenario forecasters treat cautiously, and the stagnant, cold pattern is expected to worsen air quality, notably in Île-de-France.