Very rare snowfall and record lows hit French Mediterranean island of Corsica

Residents of the French Mediterranean island of Corsica woke up this week to unusually heavy snow and record low temperatures.

Up to 30 cm (11.81 inches) of snow was reported up in the mountain stations on May 15, 2019 and up to 25 cm (9.84 inches) on the Vizzavona pass which connects Ajaccio to Bastia, closing it to vehicle access.

Patrick Rebillout, head of Meteo Meteorological Center of Meteofrance in Ajaccio, said: "It's very rare and very remarkable to have snow in Corsica in May, but we need a little more hindsight to decide just how exceptional this is."

"The weather is usually nice in May, but there can still be big cold descents," he added.

Record-cold temperatures were reported in some areas. 

Pietralba, 510 m /  1 673 feet, above sea level reported 0.9 °C (33.6 °F), beating the previous record low for the month of May of 2.9 °C (37.2 °F) set just a week before.

Record low temperatures were also reported in L’Ile Rousse (5.6 °C / 42 °F) and in Pila-Canele (4.7 °C / 40.4 °F).

For all three places, previous record lows were set just a week before during the historic Arctic outbreak affecting much of Europe.

Featured image credit: Meteo Express