After the wave of strong heat that hit France last week, storms ended up breaking out in several regions. The ideal conditions for the appearance of the summer ice storm. If everyone knows winter ice, this is not the case for this summer equivalent. And yet, as our colleagues from BFMTV explained on Wednesday July 20, it is just as dangerous, if not more.
Concretely, the summer ice storm generally appears after rainy episodes following a period of drought and high temperatures. During the latter, particles of oil, gasoline and tire rubber accumulated on the roads. However, when they come into contact with water, following a storm for example, “these materials which turn out to be partly hydrophobic, that is to say that they repel part of the water without being affected, are not instantly evacuated” explains the Météo-Contact website.
As a result, these particles will rise to the surface and cause loss of adhesion in places. Particularly slippery areas, identical to patches of ice, will therefore appear. But the latter are perfectly invisible, hence their great danger. Note that these “patches” will form more particularly in wooded areas, bends or at stopping areas, such as red lights or intersections.
To avoid being surprised by this phenomenon, it is therefore strongly advised not to drive too fast and to adapt your pace in these areas. Caution is even more important at this time of great vacation departures. Indeed, for this third weekend of July, traffic is expected to be particularly Saturday, according to Bison Futé.
For this Friday, July 22, Bison Futé has raised the orange flag in the direction of departures and red on the center-east, with traffic jams expected on the A13 motorway between Paris and Rouen, on the A10 towards Bordeaux, or even on the A8 and A9 motorways along the Mediterranean.
As for Saturday, Bison Futé sees red throughout the territory, and even black in the center-east with regard to departures. If in the direction of the returns, there should be a little less people, difficulties are still expected on the majority of the roads.
On Sunday, traffic should return to normal. If some axes are classified orange in the center-east, the whole country should be green whether in the direction of departures or returns.
