A major airport in Paris was told by authorities to cancel 10% of outgoing flights by authorities on Thursday after regions were hit with snow and ice as Storm Caetano moved over France.
Temperatures in northern areas hovered around 5C, below the seasonal average, and orange weather warnings were issued for 28 of the country’s 96 departments, including Paris, the Cote-d’Or and Mayenne.
Storm Caetano, which has also hit other parts of Europe, including Spain and Portugal, saw snow cover most of northern France yesterday. Strong winds on the West Coast caused widespread disruption, including the cancellation of around 60 flights at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, spelling trouble for out-of-season holidaymakers.
National rail service SNCF also reported hour-long delays on train networks, including the high-speed TGV line connecting Paris with western areas. Rail disruption was amplified by strike action scheduled for the same day, though local publications said the weather mainly caused delays.
Le Parisien reported over 300km of congestion on roads around Paris on Thursday, with multiple incidents reported and warnings from local authorities of reduced speed limits.
The newspaper said the bad weather caused by Storm Caetano left 179 people injured, with four in critical condition, after trees fell onto cars and roads and disrupted travel across the English Channel.
Electricity provider said over 270,000 homes across the country were left without power after the bulk of the storm passed through, with 90,000 of those affected in the Normandy region.
Snow first arrived early in western areas on Wednesday, and the iconic Eiffel Tower, which was covered in snow, was temporarily closed until 1pm on Thursday.
Locals were warned to expect up to 3cm of snow in Paris suburbs by Thursday evening, and temperatures across France dropped to below 10C, with some recording lows of 5C.
A weather warning for northern and western areas expired on Friday morning after entering force for regions around Paris at 6am on Thursday.