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WEATHER

French ski resorts forced to close due to lack of snow

Unusually warm temperatures over Christmas and New Year have led to melting snow - and French ski resorts in the Alps, Pyrenees and Jura mountains are being forced to close because of the lack of snow.

Published: 2 January 2023 15:00 CET
French ski resorts forced to close due to lack of snow
A stopped chairlift at Le Semnoz ski resort, near Annecy, as the resort had to close temporarily due to the lack of snow. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

Many of France’s lower-altitude resorts were only able to keep their doors open for a few weeks before temperatures rose too high for snow to remain deep enough for winter sports. 

The period immediately after Christmas was the warmest since 1997 in France and much of the country experienced “exceptionally high” temperatures, averaging at least 7 to 8C above seasonal norms.

The Pyrenees

In the French Pyrenees, ten of the resorts 30 resorts have had to close their ski areas in recent days, and as of December 27th only a quarter of ski runs were open for skiing.

One such resort is Ax 3 Domaines, located in Ariège, which closed on Saturday after only being operational for three weeks this winter. It typically employs about 80 people.

Some skiers who had visited Ax 3 Domaines hit stones and rocks during their descents down the mountain, damaging their equipment, as a result of the lack of sufficient snow cover. 

According to Jean-Claude Lorenzon, who owns a ski rental shop at the station, Ax 3 Domaines will not be able to open again until more snow falls.

Two other resorts closed their ski areas just before Christmas – Mourtis, located in Haute-Garonne, which closed on December 22nd, and La Pierre Saint-Martin, located in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, which closed on December 23rd.

As of January 2nd, forecasters expected temperatures to remain mild during the beginning of January, indicating that the closures could continue at least until the middle of the month.

The Vosges and Jura Mountains

Other skiable parts of France – like the Vosges and the Jura Mountains, have also been heavily impacted by warm temperatures, with less than a quarter of runs open for skiing.

In some places, like the Schlucht resort in the Vosges mountains, ski resort operators have been forced to adapt by opening the chairlift to hikers. “Usually, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the strongest of the season,” Laurent Vaxelaire, the manager of the resort told France Bleu. 

While some resorts have been able to keep certain runs open with artificial snow, the technique is costly and energy intensive, and temperatures have to be near freezing for the machines to work.

The Alps

The Alps have also been affected by rising temperatures, particularly those in the northern part of the range and sections below 2,000 metres. In Haute-Savoie, rain fell instead of snow, forcing the ski resort of Semnoz to close its doors completely during the Christmas holidays.

Another ski resort, Praz de Lyz Sommand experienced flooding after heavy rains just ahead of Christmas.

And at the resort Les Gets, part of the famous Portes de Soleil ski area, only had two runs open on January 2nd. 

According to projections Météo France, by 2050, the availability of snow cover in mid-mountain areas will be reduced to 10 to 40 percent current thickness due to the climate crisis.

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FLOODS

Floodwaters recede in eastern France

The municipalities affected by floods in eastern France on Saturday are seeing a gradual return to normality on Sunday, although forecaster Météo-France has kept an orange alert in place for Moselle and Bas-Rhin.

Published: 19 May 2024 16:44 CEST
Floodwaters recede in eastern France

“The floodwaters are receding well, we are in the process of removing all protective equipment,” said Bruno Minutiello, president of the municipalities community covering Lunéville to Baccarat (Meurthe-et-Moselle), without mentioning any significant incident.

On Saturday, this area was placed on red alert, France’s highest weather warning level, because of flooding on the Vezouze river, which burst its banks. It rose to 2.90 metres from 0.60 metres on Thursday. 

However, it fell short of reaching the level recorded during the 2006 floods, as had been feared. The river is now back on yellow alert.

“The night was quiet, no homes were flooded,” said the mayor of Lunéville, Catherine Paillard.

READ ALSO: What do France’s weather warnings actually mean?

In Moselle, the Nied river is also receding and has been downgraded to an orange alert on Sunday, from red on Saturday.

“The main street is clear, the waters have receded, all homes are accessible, whereas yesterday people had 1.50 metres of water in their houses,” said René Kupperschmit, mayor of Filstroff (Moselle), adding that the local kayak club had delivered food to some families.  

“The waters dropped back with incredible speed. Today people are cleaning up, I think that the prefect will issue a natural disaster order for the entire sector,” he added.

But further upstream, in Ancerville (Moselle), water levels were still high with the Nied reaching 2.64 metres on Sunday morning, compared to 0.65 metres on Thursday.

“There are still about 30 centimetres of water covering the two main roads making travel very difficult. But houses are not flooded, it’s mainly affecting travel,” said mayor Patrick Angelaud.

In the areas of Sarreguemines and Bouzonville (Moselle), there were still some difficulties on Sunday, after the Saar river flooded. It reached its peak of 6.40 metres in the morning, up from 2.60 metres on Thursday.

“Around 180 homes remain without electricity,” the prefecture said in a press release, noting that agents for power grid operator Enedis had been deployed to remedy the situation.

Firefighters carried out “84 interventions” in the morning, “mainly for pumping and reconnaissance”.

In the Lower Rhine area, “generally speaking, waters are starting to recede on the majority of waterways, even if some areas are still under surveillance”, the press release continued.

Around 20 roads in the department remain inaccessible, but “the situation is gradually returning to normal”.

A yellow alert for thunderstorms has been issued for 76 departments on Sunday, including those in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, amid fears of further rain.

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