Extremes Within 200 Miles

[mike Meehan]

We left Issoire, Altitude approx 350 metres, just getting into the northern end of the Massif at 1030 hours this morning. Temp was +3C but extensive ice had formed on one of the headlights during the night.

We moved off, temp initially rose to 4C, then we started the climb over the mountains and it fell again to a lowest point of +1C at about 1100 metres altitude. In the surrounding countryside patches of old snow were evident and as we got above 1100 metres there was frost on the ground and the trees, the weather being misty.

Some 30 miles on, though still at about the same height the temp had risen to +5 to 6C and all evidence of any snow had disappeared. At the Millau Viaduct, height about 650 metres the temp was now about 12C to warm up further as reached lower altitudes and continued south until eventually we reached our destination, Capestang 34310, where it was a very pleasant +19C with lovely spring sunshine.

Alas, the forecasts show that it is now mostly downhill for the next fortnight.

[95 Degrees]

We left Issoire, Altitude approx 350 metres, just getting into the northern end of the Massif at 1030 hours this morning. Temp was +3C but extensive ice had formed on one of the headlights during the night.

We moved off, temp initially rose to 4C, then we started the climb over the mountains and it fell again to a lowest point of +1C at about 1100 metres altitude. In the surrounding countryside patches of old snow were evident and as we got above 1100 metres there was frost on the ground and the trees, the weather being misty.

Some 30 miles on, though still at about the same height the temp had risen to +5 to 6C and all evidence of any snow had disappeared. At the Millau Viaduct, height about 650 metres the temp was now about 12C to warm up further as reached lower altitudes and continued south until eventually we reached our destination, Capestang 34310, where it was a very pleasant +19C with lovely spring sunshine.

Alas, the forecasts show that it is now mostly downhill for the next fortnight.

This is one of the reasons I love France, still undpredictable weather but on a much more extreme scale, not just sun,cloud,rain variations like in the boring U.K but temperature and thunder/snow extremes as well, you're lucky to live there and I plan on living down there at some point as well, just need to perfect my French first!

P.S: thanks for your adventure story!

Edited March 13, 2011 by BrightInBrighton

[Evening thunder]

Certainly a interesting little story there - these regional differences can be quite interesting.

A couple weeks ago I noticed an interesting difference here where one day when the max here was 6C, but 50 miles or less to the SW in Plymouth, after crossing over Dartmoor the max temp was 13C there. Both locations were sunny that day though there was persistent cloud to my east. Wind was NE so blowing from me, over Dartmoor towards Plymouth. Probably something like a foehn affect.

I've noticed interesting temp differences in France before looking at observations, the fact they have more high ground and topographical features probably help with this I guess as well as being more 'continental', though I don't suppose a bit of that effect in France was due to temps warming up during the day?

[cheeky_monkey]

i drove from Calgary back to Edmonton last month which is about 180 miles..it was +12c when i left Calgary and -20c when i got back to Edmonton.