Five Inches of Snow on my Paris Balcony This Morning

Kim,

First flooding and now lots of snow. This seems like an unusual year for Paris.

If it's any consolation, I've got considerably more than five inches of snow here, but that's a normal winter. The local ski hill is happy, as they're making lots of money.

Hope your weather improves soon!

Oh my word!! 5 inches is more than we have seen in weeks in N. idaho. This should be ours...send it back please! 😁❄️☃️

Wow good or bad for all whichever you look at, was talking with friends; no snow up at Tahoe, so ken you’re town is happy with it. Our weather is fabulous warm and sunny skies in the Bay Area.

I had 6 cm that stuck on the sidewalk. Be careful out there!
More to come and the temperature is - 3 C!!!

I just noticed checking Venice airport departures, that the 9:50 Air France flight to CDG was cancelled.

Eiffel Tower closed again, and I just saw a tweet that even the Musée d'Orsay is partially closed and has reduced their entry price as a result. According to their tweet:

"ground floor, Impressionist gallery and Degas Danse Dessin exhibition open.
médian level -- Gauguin, Van Gogh, décorative arts -- is closed"

By the way, I LOVE it! Haven't seen snow like this here in years!! I live in the city and my metro line is running fine, so no problems for me. Folks who rely on buses or suburban train lines are having a much tougher time of it (and I don't know how many people stayed blocked in their cars last night on the N118 road!). Paris simply isn't prepared for this type of event since it's so rare.

I do feel bad for anyone who's visiting whose plans are messed up. Mainly I think you can still see Paris in the gorgeous snow, but I know that if things are closed on one of the very few days you have to see them, that is disappointing.

Act III, La Boheme.

I would love snow in Paris. We stayed up late one night in Amsterdam when snow was called for and darned if it didn't begin snowing right when forecasters said it would. We skipped our way down to Dam Square and had a snowball fight. It was beautiful and is one of my favorite memories of Amsterdam. I can imagine the same in Paris. I love to walk around in the snow. I do feel for the homeless and the commuters to and within your city. I see people are stranded at airports not able to make it into or out of town - bummer.
Enjoy the temporary addition to the beauty of Paris!

Fortunately I don't have to go out for anything as the sidewalks are difficult. But, ah!!!! the quiet!!! Usually snows pass quickly in Paris but with this cold and more snow on the way . . . . .who knows?

Enjoy Kim!

Here is the traffic problem Kim is referring to as reported on France 2 news last night: 700 km of slow down or stopped traffic just in the Paris region. It begins around 1:45 minutes into the broadcast.

Maybe France will begin requiring winter tires the way Germany and Austria do as this is happening more and more frequently and each time it's a mess on all the roadways! I wonder how the professional truck driver who was going to buy a set of winter tires for his leased car as he drove all over France, Germany and Austria in Februrary is doing.

Since it's going to stay cold, I guess that means some of the snow will still be there when I arrive Saturday morning for a short visit. That makes one packing decision easier--no shoes, just winter boots! At least, coming from New England, I'm used to chilly weather--looks like the lightweight ski underwear will get its first trip to Paris so that I can enjoy being outside (it got to go to the opera in NY at the beginning of January when it was even colder!). While I was in Paris during the winter once before, there was no snow, so it will be interesting to see a slushy Paris. I do hope that the Orsay will have reopened by Tuesday, though, which is the only time I can get there--I guess it would, since no more snow is predicted at this point.

I suppose the cold weather will just mean more stops for hot chocolate to warm up! Looking forward to Angelina . . .

The irony being that my husband flew out to Seville this morning, where he's now enjoying sunshine!! A little bit of a delay out at CDG, but no real problems. But at Orly, I saw on the news about people being blocked out there.

The Transport Minister was on tv earlier urging people in the Ile-de-France (greater Paris region) to stay off the roads and stay off public transport. I have a friend who took six hours to get to work today (granted she lives a little further out). The suburban rail lines really suffered, as well as the folks on the roads last night.

Tonight it's supposed to get down to 20 degrees F/ minus 6 C . . . .

and p.s. another snow event possibly turning to rain predicted for Friday. Whether that will come true, we'll see!

I'm sure the forecasts Kim sees are likely more accurate than what I've been following on weather.com, which now says "rain/snow" for Friday, but sun and temps around 37F on Saturday. Hope it's right and things aren't too sloppy by Saturday morning! Guess the waterproof boots will get a workout. It will be below freezing at night--are streets usually cleared and treated for ice?

Don't know first hand because I'm housebound but generally, in the case of snow, ice and windstorms most gardens and parks are closed.

No, streets are not cleared or treated for ice. Sidewalks because of freezing and thawing are treacherous. Since this could go on for sometime, walking will continue to be problematic. Usually the results of a Paris snow disappear quickly. This one with the bitter cold is not going away with any speed. Rain or snow Friday?

Lois right now, no treatment - slush and mess everywhere, which will become ice overnight.

they might have a few salting trucks, I'm not sure, but literally they haven't had this much snow in 30 years in Paris so they don't invest in that much snow-removal equipment, is my guess.

Barbara - I don't think the Jardin du Luxembourg was closed, but the official city website says that all cemeteries and some of the parks were closed today.

https://www.paris.fr/neigeverglas

Les établissements municipaux fermés
Espaces verts et cimetières
En raison des intempéries, les cimetières sont tous fermés. Les squares, jardins, et certains parcs, ainsi que les espaces du bois de Boulogne, sont fermés.

Municipal establishments closed:
Green spaces and Cemeteries
Due to the storms, all cemeteries are closed. Squares, gardens, and certain parks, as well as spaces in the Bois du Boulogne, are closed.

https://meslieux.paris.fr/parcs-et-jardins

That link shows which ones are open or closed - the closed ones seem to be noted in red, so I think Jardin du Luxembourg stayed open.

I saw reports of Paris snow on the news today. The photos were beautiful! Like Pam, I wish you would share some of that with us. Seems as if our mountains are receiving but we are not.

Thanks for the warnings about icy streets--sure hope it's better by the weekend! We had hoped to enjoy walking around, even if the weather is cold, but treacherous streets are no fun. Maybe with temps above freezing, even if only a little, things will melt a bit.

Sitting in a café, drinking a café crème would be heaven for me.

Barbara, I’m w you on the Jardin du Luxembourg... my favorite place on the planet. Love your Hemingway story... and ain’t that the truth!

Friends of mine landed at CDG early today on AF from SF and had to sit on plane for 1.5 hrs before they found an open gate and could get off. Ugh.

Thanks Kim, &. 75020 for your info, particularly about being careful of icy sidewalks. Will definitely watch my strep, if and when I get to Paris. At hotel at CDG now, waiting to hear my transportation options.

Hopefully when the thaw comes, it is gradual.

Some kind people have been shoveling pathways along the sidewalks so people can walk safely.
Beware the 5 cm of ice, though...go through the "powder", instead - it's safer.
And people have been salting their doorways and even the sidewalks.
As of now, it is - 3 C.

Nothing was said about Luxembourg Jardins, but the closing time is 5:45 in February.
EDIT : The Luxembourg Jardins are closed for now.

Sounds like things are improving a bit, although more snow/rain is forecast for tomorrow!

It's almost over - the sidewalks are mostly free of ice and snow. I don't know about the Eiffel Tower or the Luxembourg Jardins.
It is currently -7 C...

Does the Seine freeze over in cold like this? Is it still high?

The Seine is receding somewhat, but it doesn't ice over like running water does.