ROMAIN DOUCELIN / NurPhoto via AFP
Temperatures will drop further this weekend of January 3 and 4, 2026.
IN BRIEF • Temperatures will drop further in the coming days.
• Increasingly rare in the current climate, this cold snap will be particularly intense in central and eastern France.
• Snow is expected mainly in the north-eastern departments of the country.
Icy weather to start the year. The first weekend of 2026 promises to be particularly cold. Already well below seasonal norms in recent days, temperatures will continue to fall. We therefore expect 1°C in Lille and Paris on Sunday morning, 0°C in Toulouse, Nantes and Rennes, and up to – 4°C in Belfort or Aurillac.
This winter trend should continue at the start of the week. “Between Sunday and Wednesday, several regions may not experience a thaw during the day”underlines The Weather Channel this Friday, January 2. The thermometer will indeed have difficulty rising.
“Very low temperatures will increase in the coming days”confirms specialist journalist Nicolas Berrod on X, sharing an animation showing the difference with seasonal temperatures. A cold snap is “very possible in the center and east. » And episode “increasingly rare in the current climate”he emphasizes.
Snow during the day on Saturday
Although it can be unpleasant and force us to bring out our scarves and gloves, this cold has at least one advantage: that of bringing a touch of winter magic. Snow is in fact expected again in the country this Saturday. Météo-France therefore forecasts snowflakes falling in the North-East of France, and probably in Hauts-de-France and the Paris region.
“The soils will be well whitened in certain areas of the North-East, notably from Jura to Champagne via Burgundy and in Alsace and Lorraine”writes the forecaster in his latest bulletin. “We expect locally up to 5 cm in the Vosges at low altitude”, he specifies. In these regions, maximum temperatures will remain negative in places during the day.
In Île-de-France, showers are expected, but this could temporarily turn into light snowfall. In Paris, the mercury will reach 4°C during the hottest part of the day, before dropping to around 0°C in the evening.
A sunny but very cold Sunday
The first Sunday of 2026 promises to be sunny for most French people. A light cloudy veil will persist over the North-East and South-West, but the sun will shine widely over Brittany, Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Centre-Val de Loire and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
However, the mercury will not rise again. On the contrary, it should continue to fall until Wednesday. The national thermal indicator will stand at 0.3°C on Sunday, then at – 1.3°C on Monday and Wednesday, according to The Weather Channel. Concretely, Monday will start with negative temperatures or close to zero over a large part of the country.
More than thirty departments in eastern France will be placed on yellow alert “very cold” from Sunday. It is recommended to cover up well and limit prolonged exposure to the cold. If a homeless person is in difficulty, it is possible to contact 115, a free social emergency number, available 24 hours a day.