Strong storms hit north of the country

Flights in and out of northern France were canceled overnight on 9-10 February 2009 due to strong storms. Air traffic at airports in Paris was suspended at 2000 local time (1900 UTC) on 9 February in anticipation of the extremely high winds; traffic resumed at approximately 0900 local time (0800 UTC) on 10 February, with some delays. The affected airports included Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (LFPG/CDG), Orly (LFPO/ORY) and Le Bourget (LFPB/LBG) in Paris, as well as Nantes Atlantique Airport (LFRS/NTE), Rennes - Saint-Jacques Airport (LFRN/RNS) and Brest Bretagne Airport (LFRM/BES). Despite efforts at accommodating stranded passengers, hundreds reportedly spent the night in airport terminals. In addition, the storms, with winds of almost 90 mph/80 kt, cut power to approximately 600,000 residences in northern France, about half of which have since had electricity restored.