The weather is expected to be disrupted throughout the weekend in the south-eastern quarter of France.Météo-France has placed nine departments on orange alert for rain and flooding this Saturday.
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After a short-term lull, a new rainy episode will affect the country on Saturday for the start of the weekend, according to Météo France forecasts.
Météo-France is forecasting a hectic weekend. 9 departments are placed on orange alert this Saturday, March 9: Var, Ardèche, Alpes-Maritimes and Lozère are on alert for “rain-flooding”. The Var is also on “flood” alert, as are Charente-Maritime, Gironde and Gard. The Alpes-Maritimes are also affected by a risk of avalanches.
The departments of Haute-Loire and Loire are placed on orange alert for violent winds. “Depression Monica is currently located off the coast of Brittany. The wind is strengthening around the Massif Central, and the rains in the Cévennes will continue to intensify”, specifies Météo-France.
200mm expected in the Cévennes and the Côte d’Azur. The weekend promises to be very hectic again in the south-east of France. Météo-France has placed nine departments on orange alert, including four for rain and flooding (Lozère, Ardèche, Var, Alpes-Maritimes), two for strong gusts of wind (Haute-Loire and Loire) and another for avalanche risks. (Alpes-Maritimes). Ardèche, Gard and Gironde join Charente-Maritime on orange flood alert.
“In the afternoon of Saturday, the rains will intensify in the Cévennes firstly and in PACA secondly. This episode will end on Sunday morning”indicates the forecaster in his latest newsletter.
The meteorological institute predicts cumulative rainfall of around 100 to 150 mm with up to 200 mm locally in the Cévennes and the Côte d’Azur, where the episode could continue until Sunday morning, is- He specifies. “The climatological averages for the month of March in the Alpes-Maritimes do not exceed 50 to 100 mm, the forecast accumulations can represent the equivalent of more than a month of precipitation“, warns the meteorological institute
The risk of watercourses overflowing must be monitored, warns Météo-France, “especially since, an aggravating factor, the soils are now sometimes saturated in these regions (…) Runoff or mudslides are also to be feared in the relief areas.”
In the mountains, the wind is expected to blow strongly and significant snow accumulations are expected, with a “high risk” of avalanches in the south of the Alps and the west of the Pyrenees.
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