A combination of cold weather, snow and ice means large parts of France are still on high alert, with warnings of power cuts in some regions of the country.

"/> A combination of cold weather, snow and ice means large parts of France are still on high alert, with warnings of power cuts in some regions of the country.

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WEATHER

Power threat as France struggles with big chill

A combination of cold weather, snow and ice means large parts of France are still on high alert, with warnings of power cuts in some regions of the country.

Power threat as France struggles with big chill
Clara Giraud

National weather forecaster Météo France has placed 28 French departments on “orange alert,” the second highest of the warnings it gives.

An orange alert warns of “dangerous” conditions with special attention needed on roads.

The Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté regions in the east were all badly affected on Thursday  as were the central Corrèze, Creuse and Cantal areas.

Even the Mediterranean port town of Marseille was affected, with palm trees covered in snow. Heavy goods vehicles were held back on motorways into the town causing traffic delays.

Météo France blamed the cold snap on a Siberian wind which made temperatures feel much colder than they really are.

Temperatures across the country were unlikely to get above between -3 and -6 degrees on Thursday, with the wind chill making the air feel much colder.

Newspaper France Soir reported that several regions were also at risk of losing electricity due to excessive demand. These included the north-west region of Brittany and the southern Alpes-Maritimes, Var and Monaco.

Residents of those areas were being asked to limit their electricity consumption between 6pm and 8pm. 

The national electricity grid operator RTE (Réseau du Transport Electrique) predicted that national electricity consumption would reach a peak of 95,500 megawatts at 7pm on Thursday evening. This would take it close to the highest ever consumption figure of 96,710 megawatts on December 15th 2010.

Temperatures are expected to fall even lower over the next few days, with -10 degrees expected in central France and around Paris.

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WEATHER

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

Blizzards in Denmark this week have resulted in the greatest depth of snow measured in the country for 13 years.

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

A half-metre of snow, measured at Hald near East Jutland town Randers, is the deepest to have occurred in Denmark since January 2011, national meteorological agency DMI said.

The measurement was taken by the weather agency at 8am on Thursday.

Around 20-30 centimetres of snow was on the ground across most of northern and eastern Jutland by Thursday, as blizzards peaked resulting in significant disruptions to traffic and transport.

A much greater volume of snow fell in 2011, however, when over 100 centimetres fell on Baltic Sea island Bornholm during a post-Christmas blizzard, which saw as much as 135 centimetres on Bornholm at the end of December 2010.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s January storms could be fourth extreme weather event in three months

With snowfall at its heaviest for over a decade, Wednesday saw a new rainfall record. The 59 millimetres which fell at Svendborg on the island of Funen was the most for a January day in Denmark since 1886. Some 9 weather stations across Funen and Bornholm measured over 50cm of rain.

DMI said that the severe weather now looks to have peaked.

“We do not expect any more weather records to be set in the next 24 hours. But we are looking at some very cold upcoming days,” DMI meteorologist and press spokesperson Herdis Damberg told news wire Ritzau.

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