While France has been facing particularly low temperatures in recent days, an unprecedented mild spell has seen the thermometer rise in a single night on Monday, December 19. And it should last several more days.
This first week of the Christmas holidays will experience a “generalized” rise in temperatures, according to forecasts by Météo-France. This strong thaw is confirmed with temperatures “which pass significantly above normal for the season”. So much so that in some regions the temperature will rise from 10°C to 20°C from one week to the next. This thaw will last until Christmas at least according to forecasts.
Why such mild temperatures?
As explained by Weather Channel, “the anticyclone located over central Europe is rapidly retreating towards Russia, while air of subtropical origin rises from the Atlantic to France”, explains meteorologist Régis Crepet. This air mass comes from the Canary Islands and Morocco, where it was 25°C on Monday followingnoon. At the foot of the Pyrenees, the Weather Channel for example recorded 23°C today. Edifying example: it was 12°C this Monday in Troyes (Aube), while it was still -9°C there on Sunday morning.
We must therefore get used to having temperatures 5°C above national averages in the coming days, and 8°C in the southwest. If the records for 1989 are not broken, the minimum temperatures will remain remarkably high, generally between 7° and 14°C from the northeast towards the Mediterranean. Possible “sweet night” records might also be approached.
How long will this thaw last?
According to forecasters, this thaw should continue until the Christmas weekend. But the Weather Channel announces a potential change from December 28th. “An anticyclone would swell over Scandinavia and might bring cold air down to the north of France”, confides Régis Crepet, according to whom this situation will need to be confirmed. We would then have to wait until the New Year weekend to see the temperatures drop drastically and return to seasonal normals.