Heavy snowfall across the French Alps is causing travel disruptions as the peak of the winter vacation season approaches. Four departments – Drôme, Isère, Puy-de-Dôme, Savoie, and Haute-Savoie – were placed under a yellow alert Friday, February 20, 2026, due to the risk of “snow-ice” conditions, according to authorities.
The alert comes as the “Pedro” weather system moves across the country, bringing strong winds to Roussillon, high waves to the Atlantic coast, and significant snowfall to the Alps, increasing the risk of avalanches, Météo-France warned.
Exceptional Snowfall Ahead of Holiday Travel Rush
The impact of the heavy snowfall is already being felt, particularly in the Isère department. The ski resort of Chamrousse has been accumulating significant snow for weeks, and officials are concerned about the upcoming weekend, which is expected to see a large influx of travelers.
Chamrousse, situated between 1,400 and 2,250 meters in altitude, has seen an average of 20 centimeters of snow per day for the past three weeks, France 3 reported.
Chamrousse is located at 1650 meters above sea level.
Chaos at Chamrousse, Isère
“It’s a bit of a mess, but we’re going to manage,” said Christopher Hardy, director of the local tourism office. “We’re not seeing historic snowfall records, but it’s been almost 20 years since we’ve had three weeks of non-stop snow.” Snow removal teams are working around the clock to clear roads and pathways.
“Normally, it snows at night and we have time to do our work during the day. But this is a bit exceptional,” Hardy explained. “We’ve been working every day for the past ten days. They’ve found extra drivers at night so we have our full team available during the day.”
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On Friday, February 20, access to the resort was closed due to high traffic and parking difficulties.
Cars Buried Under Snow
Both roads leading to the resort were closed to uphill traffic on Friday, February 20, due to particularly high volumes of vehicles, which complicated parking and vehicle management as the snowfall continued. As a direct result, some parking areas have become inaccessible, with cars buried under the accumulating snow. Trucks with snowplows are being used to facilitate dig them out. “One of the difficulties is the snow removal because people arriving for their vacations exit their cars under the snow. If they leave them for three days, that’s 1.20 meters of snow, the cars are covered to the roof. One can’t see them anymore, and that’s a big problem,” Hardy said.
While the abundant snow is good news for shovel retailers, it’s causing headaches for vacationers trying to reach their vehicles. The situation is expected to worsen this weekend in Chamrousse. Météo-France has forecast up to 60 centimeters of additional snow by Friday evening, ahead of one of the busiest travel days of the winter vacation season.
