If the gale is usual for the season, in a context of high tides, it can be impressive on the coasts. This Saturday, twelve departments have been placed on orange vigilance : five for rain-flood, five for floods and six for waves-submersion. Some departments combine three vigilances, others two, others only one, according to the Météo France bulletin published this Saturday at 4 p.m. Throughout the weekend, this depression will cross the near Atlantic, the Channel basin as well as the North Sea.
The departments concerned by vigilance
- The five departments on orange alert rain-flood are: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne.
- The five departments on orange alert raw are Finistère, Charente-Maritime, Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
- Pas-de-Calais, Finistère, Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique, Vendée and Charente-Maritime are concerned by orange vigilance waves-submersion.
Gusts between 90 and 100 km/h
High seas will reach coefficients between 100 and 105, with waves possibly reaching 5 to 6 meters in height in the Bay of Biscay.
The waves arouse the fascination of vacationers, but keep your distance. In Brittany, on Rochebonne beach in Saint-Malo, two reckless people have fun slipping under the waves: this behavior is dangerous and the risk of drowning is high.
Météo France speaks of a “episode of strong waves from Finistère to Charente-Maritime and Pas-de-Calais” with some “overflows expected at high tide in the evening”. The associated strong southwest winds generate and maintain strong waves across the entire Atlantic coast and the entrance to the English Channel. An active rain-storm front is approaching the northwest of the country. Gusts could reach the 90-100 km/h from Vendée to south of Finistère as well as in northern Cotentin and Boulonnais.
Flood risks
From Gironde to Anjou, a lasting episode of sustained rain will set in from Saturday to Monday. The accumulations could exceed 100 mm of water and present a risk of flooding near low points should be monitored.