FRANCE: The big freeze forces temperatures way below freezing point as authorities warn of even colder weather to come

Record ID: 333224

  • Title: FRANCE: The big freeze forces temperatures way below freezing point as authorities warn of even colder weather to come
  • Date: 4th February 2012
  • Summary: VINCENNES, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 3, 2012) FROZEN LAKE NOTICE READING: DON'T STEP ON THE ICE BOAT FROZEN IN LAKE ICE ON ROCK ICE AND LAKE WATER ON EDGE OF ICE VARIOUS SWANS IN WATER HOLE MAN WALKING VARIOUS OF JOGGERS STRASBOURG, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 3, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THERMOMETER SHOWING TEMPERATURE OF MINUS 10 DEGREES PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 3, 2012) (REUTERS) EIFFEL TOWER AND BIG WHEEL AGAINST BLUE SKY FOUNTAIN ON ICED POND STREET SCENE THERMOMETER SHOWING MINUS FIVE DEGREES (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAN SAYING: "It's normal. It's winter, it's cold. People get worried these days about things that used to be normal in olden days." (SOUNDBITE) (French) ITALIAN WOMAN LEAVING IN PARIS, LUCE, SAYING: "I hope this will pass very rapidly." (SOUNDBITE) (French) PASSER-BY REMY SAYING: "It's not a problem. There are seasons, it's winter, there's a lovely light. There's lots of stuff. All you have to do is keep warm." RIVER SEINE
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVAC5YD0CMJJZ5C2B6OSXLV69QR9
  • Story Text: The big freeze sweeping through Europe brought plummeting temperatures to France on Friday (February 3) as nearly half the country went on alert and forecasters warned of even colder weather to come.
    Daytime temperatures hit a relatively rare minus five degrees Celcius in Paris and were ten degrees below freezing in Strasbourg in eastern France. State weather body Meteo France issued severe weather warnings for nearly 40 districts in the centre and east of the country and over the Pyrenees mountains.
    Although nowhere near as brutal as the cold that is affecting Ukraine and Serbia, the sight of ice on the streets of Paris was a relative novelty for its inhabitants who had basked in unseasonally high temperatures until now.
    "It's normal. It's winter, it's cold. People get worried these days about things that used to be normal in olden days," said one Paris resident.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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