Rain, floods and waves-submersion: 12 departments in orange

The organizers of the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques-Vabre, which sets off on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. from Le Havre towards Martinique, on Saturday invited boaters not to go out to sea to watch the start due to the weather. In a press release sent to AFP, they announced that they had “taken the decision to cancel” the sea outing of the boats carrying partners and media to attend the departure, “strongly advising boaters to do the same”. Off the coast of Le Havre, the first hours of the crossing promise to be chaotic for the 95 racing sailboats entered, with a wind of 20 to 25 knots (46 km/h), rough seas with a high tidal coefficient and waves of several meters.

The departments on orange alert are:

⚫ For floods: Charente-Maritime, Finistère, Gironde, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

⚫ For rain-floods: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne

⚫ For wave-submersion: Charente-Maritime, Finistère, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan, Pas-de-Calais, Vendée

This Saturday evening and during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the rain-storm front will cause significant accumulations of precipitation in Poitou-Charentes and Vendée. “We expect around 40 to 60 mm locally 80 mm, or even a little more. This precipitation could occur in areas already well watered in recent hours,” alert Météo-France which has placed 12 departments in orange alert for floods (Charente-Maritime, Finistère, Gironde, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques), rain-flood (Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne) and waves-submersion (Charente-Maritime, Finistère, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan, Pas-de-Calais, Vendée).

In the northwest of the country, stormy periods with potentially very strong gusts of wind are expected. “There is a marked risk of occasional whirlwind phenomena, especially near the coast, but also inland, with gust values ​​that can locally exceed 100 km/h. We must be attentive to the situation,” warns Météo-France in its 4 p.m. bulletin.

Strong waves, up to 5-6 meters locally, are feared on the coast, from Brittany to Charentes-Maritimes. On the estuaries of the Atlantic coast, overflows are expected. Strong southwest winds generate and maintain these strong waves which affect the entire Atlantic coast and the entrance to the English Channel.