For the second consecutive year, the Gard experienced record stormy activity in 2021 in France. Also in this department, the municipality of Uchaud is the one that was most struck down on the whole of the national territory. In 2020, another Gard commune, Madagout, held this record. On a regional scale, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes was the hardest hit. These data are taken from the company’s annual balance sheet
Weatherstorm.
“Overall, there were very few lightning strikes in terms of the number of impacts in 2021, explains Marie Candau, communication manager for this company based in Pau. But the episodes were particularly striking, especially in June and September in the areas bordering the Mediterranean”. June was the second busiest month since these statistics began in 1989.
Day of desolation in Uchaud
But in Uchaud, it was the day of September 14, 2021 that was apocalyptic. The town holds the French record with 17.47 cloud-to-ground flashes per km2 (this is the unit of measurement) in 2021. For comparison, this is almost 16 times more than the national average, and more double the number of lightning strikes detected in Madagout the previous year.
That day, the Mediterranean episode was particularly devastating. The Gard was placed on red alert and Uchaud was to be one of the 48 Gard communes (and 12 in the Hérault) recognized two weeks later in a state of natural disaster. “It has been a constant for several years, continues Marie Candau. There are not necessarily more stormy days. On the other hand, the episodes are particularly violent. Uchaud thus concentrated 88% of its stormy activity in 2021 on this single day of September 14.
More and more extreme phenomena
More generally, the Gard has not been spared by these extreme phenomena. “This classification is made in terms of density (the number of flashes per km2). The smaller departments therefore have a greater risk of appearing at the top, tempers Marie Candau. But the relief of the Gard department largely explains this position as the most struck department in 2021. “
The Mediterranean and Cévennes episodes occur in autumn when the air laden with hot steam from the Mediterranean rises towards the north and collides with the cold of the reliefs. This temperature shock is the cause of these increasingly frequent violent phenomena.
A global player in storm prevention
Based in Pau, Météorage was founded in 1987 and employs 27 people. This global player in storm monitoring and lightning risk prevention provides solutions to local authorities as well as private professionals. Like leisure centers, wind farm managers or even electricity network managers, whose activity can be constrained by stormy phenomena.