Arctic air brings deep cold to Europe as Corsica hit by near-100mph gusts

An Arctic air mass has pushed deep cold across much of Europe and produced severe winds that battered parts of Corsica. Temperatures fell to double-digit negatives across central regions. Heavy snowfall struck parts of eastern and central Europe on New Year’s Eve, notably in Poland and Ukraine, and similar conditions affected the Alps in the opening days of the year.

In South Korea the cold brought snow to Jeju island, where more than 9cm fell in Jeju City and flights and ferries were cancelled because of strong winds and wind shear. On Corsica gusts of about 60mph hit L’Île-Rousse and winds approaching 100mph were recorded in the Cap Corse peninsula.

Although the Mistral regularly affects the island, the current atmospheric setup was not a textbook Mistral: a high pressure situated farther north in the Atlantic drove stable cold air south across France while a low developed in the Gulf of Genoa. The contrast funnelled cold air through the Rhône valley, accelerating it in a Venturi-like fashion, then the wind burst over the Gulf of Lion and was directed toward Balagne and Cap Corse.

The cold is likely to continue this week as the Arctic air sinks south across Europe, pulling temperatures well below the seasonal average outside south-east Europe.

Key Topics

World, Arctic Air, Corsica, Cap Corse, L'île-rousse, Jeju Island