Par
Vanessa Leroy
Published on Jan 18, 2025 at 6:38 p.m.
What could be more normal than seeing snow fall in the middle of winter in Seine-Maritime? However, if snowflakes could have swirled here and there this Saturday January 18, 2025the phenomenon is not so usual…
It is not in fact natural snow but industrial snow. “During periods of calm and cold weather in winter, despite the absence of disturbance, it sometimes snows in certain towns or near industrial complexes,” explains Météo France.
Linked to the combination of particular winter weather conditions and human activities, this snow is called “industrial”, “urban” or even “pollution”.
Weather France
But then how is this industrial snow formed? “In certain anticyclonic conditions, in a mass of cold and humid air, particles emitted by human activities can play the role of condensation nuclei around which water vapor will agglomerate to form snowflakes,” continues Météo France.
Concretely, “these snowfalls occur in calm, cold weather in the presence of a powerful winter anticyclone« .
The anticyclone then acts as a lid trapping airborne particles near the ground and preventing the dispersion of moisture and pollution with a strong temperature inversion.
Weather France
More another factor – human this time – also intervenes: “It is the pollution linked to industries, traffic, heating appliances which will load the ambient air with additional humidity but also with small solid particles”, adds we at Météo France.
Follow the news of Havre and of Rouen on our WhatsApp channel and on our TikTok account
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.