National agency Météo France has put five departments on red alert and 48 departments on orange alert due to high winds, snow, and black ice.
The departments on red alert are Aisne, Ardennes, Oise, Seine-Maritime and Sommem all in the far north of the country.
A red alert is the highest level of alert on the agency's scale, and meteorologists have warned residents to stay at home and to avoid any activities outdoors.
It said they could expect “a severe and violently strong winter storm” with winds of up to 140km/hr between 7pm and 1am.
5 départements en #VigilanceRouge #VentViolent
Restez informés sur https://t.co/bbNAHFUEZc pic.twitter.com/0Cciyi4lu4— Météo-France (@meteofrance) January 12, 2017
An orange alert – which has been issued for the rest of the northern half of France – is the second highest warning level the agency issues and urges the public to be “very vigilant”.
Météo France predicted that Thursday afternoon would see inland winds of up to 100km/hr and coastal winds of up to 120km/hr and warned the public to be vigilant when travelling.
By evening, parts of eastern France may see winds reaching 120km/hr, the agency noted.
The north coast of France may see up to 5 centimetres of snow overnight, while eastern France near the Belgian border could see up to 10 centimetres.
The strong winds mean that snow drifts are possible.
Storms in France. File photo: AFP
Even Paris has been tipped to get snowfall later on Thursday night.
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