I have been patiently ticking off the weeks, well impatiently if I'm totally honest, and planning for brisk spring weather from March 15 to April 16. I begin to watch the news, and oh my, it's soooo cold!

I realise this is a really bad cold snap for the end of winter for Europe, but even the 2 week weather forecast offers not a great change for those enduring this weather.

What does it mean for travel and for Spring for visiting Paris and France? If you experience this freezing weather late, does it tend to mean spring bulbs, snow melts etc will also be a month late, or if the weather pushes on into Spring, does everything tend to catch up?

Living in a hot for 8 months of the year climate, I am starting to think I need to re- adjust my cold weather gear for freezing weather gear.

Would love to hear of your experience with this time of year. It feels like "WHAT springtime in Paris?" as I'll be home again by mid April!

Well, mid-March is six weeks away. The weather will certainly change between then and now!

I don't really get why everyone's freaking out about the cold weather. I keep wanting to say, "It's winter, what do you expect?" It's normal to have freezing weather in early February, even here in the south of France. So I don't see why it should have a significant effect on the weather in mid-March -- especially given what a mild winter we've had (no frost at all here till last week).

Anyway, as AiP says,'Weather happens". I wouldn't come to France in March without packing at least some warm clothes. It might be warm, it might be cold. It will almost certainly rain some of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Yggdrasil:

What does it mean for travel and for Spring for visiting Paris and France? If you experience this freezing weather late, does it tend to mean spring bulbs, snow melts etc will also be a month late, or if the weather pushes on into Spring, does everything tend to catch up?

According to meteorological statistics, it may mean all those things, or some of those things, or the opposite of those things. So yes, prepeare accordingly.

Thanks for the insights

I'm not freaking, just I had thought it would be brisky chilly, maybe a bit wet.

We are just coming out of a heatwave of 40/41C for two weeks, and a long long, hot summer, so seeing alarmist news reports (though you expect that of the news)and long range weather forecasts saying there is no let up in sight makes me wonder what it is usually like.

I'm virtually unfamiliar with this kind of weather, though I have had one winter break in Europe in 2008 and it was snowy but still and crisp.

quote:

If you experience this freezing weather late, does it tend to mean spring bulbs, snow melts etc will also be a month late, or if the weather pushes on into Spring, does everything tend to catch up?

Spring bulbs and many spring flower seeds are planted in the months of October-December because they need the chill.

As a gardener, I can say that spring bulbs such as tulips, crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, Dutch irises will bloom better.

Other spring flowers that love to germinate during the cold include some poppies, larkspur (pied d’alouette), nigella, forget-me-not also bloom well.

Layers--base, blouse/shirt, sweater, coat, scarf. No worries.

Cameron

This reminded me of an old thread where ckenb, who's a regular here, explained "les giboulées de mars."

We spent three weeks in Paris in 2008 and found the weather just as he described. Very changeable, sometimes dramatic, but always interesting.

Thanks so much. Yes, re the bulbs, I was thinking, if the warming of the soil is that much later, they will come up and bloom after I have gone and I won't catch any early ones. Not being familiar with frozen anything that doesn't come out of the kitchen freezer I have no idea

I actually have to put the few bulbs that will grow here for a season in the fridge to chill for a month or two to get one seasons flowers up and out of the soil

Well, that old thread certain gives me lots of pause for consideration of clothing and what layers to take, thanks so much

I suspect that what a "coat" means here in Montréal has little to do with the definition in SC to say nothing of Perth, WA.

Though this late winter, we are far milder than many places in Western Europe.

Yggdrasil, think woolly things. Paris is never Siberia, but it can get that nasty damp, a bit like London, though not usually as unrelenting. The weather is more changeable.

March and even early April can be notoriously blustery, with hard, sudden showers of cold rain. Or snow. Yes, be prepared.

There has been a lot of discussion in the Italy forum about all the snow and ice there. Is France having any of that unexpectedly heavy snow?

- Roz

It was snowing in Marseille and in the Var over the past couple of days. I heard 20 cm on the news, and that's about 8 inches of accumulation. Here in the Loire Valley, we've had about 4 inches of snow on the ground for a while now, but tomorrow it's supposed to start melting. The bad news is that we will have snow and freezing rain for 24 hours before the real thaw happens. The temperature early this morning was -13ºC, or just under +9ºF. Bone-chilling cold...