Snow on the road
Snow on the road
Intense snowfall mixed with strong gusts of wind, villages buried under astronomical amounts of powder snow... It is almost apocalyptic weather that reigns over these regions in recent days... and the inhabitants will remember it.

Who could have predicted that 2026 would go down in history? Both in terms of rainfall and snowfall, it has broken numerous records this year. The many ski resorts still open are proof of this, as the intense snowfall of recent days has once again blanketed the slopes in white.

This allows skiers who wish to do so to enjoy the pleasures of skiing one last time at Easter. While the heavy snowfall is a boon for ski resorts, this isn't necessarily the case elsewhere. When winter hasn't yet had its final say in the mountains, sometimes an entire area is paralyzed, as was the case this week.


Snow, freezing rain... These storms in April will remain in people's minds for a long time.

Since the beginning of the week, mountainous areas, but especially the Pyrenees, the Ardèche region, and Andorra, have been particularly hard hit by severe weather. It's not just freezing rain that's keeping residents indoors, but astronomical amounts of snow, driven by winds reaching up to 70 km/h.

In just a few hours, between 30 and 40 cm of snow fell, bringing the total accumulation to 70 cm. This was due to a north to northwest flow , explains La Chaîne Météo (The Weather Channel) , which brought a mass of cold, humid air that collided with the Pyrenees mountain range. The result: near-zero visibility on the roads and villages cut off from the world while they wait for the snow to melt with the return of spring to the higher elevations.

Almost apocalyptic weather

With snow falling heavily and continuously for several days, the daily lives of motorists on the roads have also been greatly disrupted. So much so that some roads had to be closed, catching some drivers off guard and forcing them to turn back. Some, lacking the proper equipment, even found themselves stranded on the roads.

This apocalyptic weather has exacerbated the avalanche risk, which has risen from level 3 to 4, and even to 5 in some areas. This is due to the large amount of fresh snow that fell very quickly and the strong winds, creating significant instability. These are surprising events for early spring and April, but they serve as a reminder that nothing is ever impossible before the Ice Saints, especially in the mountains.