Hurricane Kirk, downgraded to an extratropical storm, will sweep across France from Wednesday, October 9 to Thursday, October 10. Violent gusts of wind and heavy rain are expected in the country, from west to east.
The weather is far from being fine this week. After the Cévennes episode that affected half of south of France at the beginning of the week, it is a storm that will sweep across French lands from Wednesday, October 9. Hurricane Kirk, which is evolving in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, retrograded in category 1/5, continues to weaken to become an extratropical storm, and it is this storm Kirk that will blow over France from west to east between Wednesday and Thursday according to the weather forecast.
Storm Kirk is expected to hit the Bay of Biscay from Wednesday and affect a large northwest quarter before gradually sliding towards the northeast. The depression is expected to follow a diagonal axis from Vendée, in the Pays de la Loire, to Lorraine, in the Grand Est. Orange alerts are expected to be triggered on this axis. Météo France has already placed 19 departments on orange alert for Wednesday, from 6am: 17 are on this axis and will be on alert for rain and flooding, while the last two will be subject to strong winds in the Pyrenees.
The trajectory of Storm Kirk is already beginning to be refined, but it can still evolve and become more precise. Other uncertainties still hover over the intensity of the phenomenon. The Windy application models meteorological data and allows you to visualize Storm Kirk and its progression. Here you can see the wind gusts and their evolution. It is possible to observe the simple winds and the accumulation of winds by choosing the appropriate filter with the button at the top right of the image.
Storm Kirk will bring strong winds. Gusts could reach 80 to 100 km/h on the French coasts and blow between 60 and 80 km/h inland with no significant weakening expected en route between the regions from the west and those from the east. On the contrary, the winds could be as strong in the valleys of the central east as on the coast. The stormy winds will also affect the Pyrenees with more powerful gusts ranging from 120 to 150 km/h on the ridges and from 100 to 110 km/h in the valleys.
The winds generated by Storm Kirk are expected to be the main hazard, which can cause trees or objects to fall. In case of vigilance, it is recommended to protect your home and to secure or bring in any outdoor objects likely to be blown away. It is also preferable to limit your movements and to stay informed of the situation via the authorities. The risks are all the greater when heavy rains are added to violent winds.
In addition to the stormy winds, the Kirk depression should bring heavy rain to a large northwestern part of the country. “The totals over the whole day will be very significant, they could reach 40 to 60 mm in the Paris basin and 60 to 80 mm, or even locally 90 mm heading towards the Pays-de-la-Loire and Vendée” predicts Météo France. La Chaine Météo announces up to 100 mm of precipitation locally. It is between the Pays de la Loire and the Grand Est, passing through the Centre-Val-de-Loire, the south of the Paris basin and part of Burgundy that the depression should be the strongest. But the trajectory of storm Kirk can still change. The precipitation will be reinforced by a conflict between two air masses, explains La Chaine Météo: Storm Kirk will be pushed by warm air coming from the southwest, but will encounter cold air in Brittany that could encompass the depression and strengthen it.
The expected quantities of water are equivalent to the precipitation that usually falls in a month according to Météo France. These rains will occur “in a context of already very wet soils and could therefore cause flooding,” adds the meteorological agency.
Under the effect of storm Kirk, swell is expected on the Atlantic coast, particularly in the Bay of Biscay. Waves of 4 to 6 meters are expected, especially south of the Gironde. The risk of submersion will be limited by the low tidal coefficients.
Latest updates
The rainy event is to be monitored towards Vendée and the Pays de la Loire, its duration and intensity could lead to a reassessment of the level of vigilance, warns Météo France for the day of Wednesday, October 9. Accumulations of 60 to 80 mm are expected in this western zone, and locally 90 to 100 mm in the south of the Pays de la Loire, from the middle of the night on Tuesday to the end of the afternoon on Wednesday. The rains will “gain in intensity” during the day – Wednesday – with intensities reaching 10 to 15 mm in 1 hour. This should be the most critical situation of the day.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000On Wednesday, Météo France announces a strengthening of the southerly wind towards the west of the Pyrenees. "The gusts could reach 120 to 150 km/h on the summits and 100 to 110 km/h in the valleys and in the open air", we can read in the bulletin published at 16:10 this Tuesday, October 8. With the passage of the Kirk depression, the wind "will suddenly switch to the west at the end of the day (this Wednesday), with still gusts close to 100 km/h”, warns Météo France.
“In connection with the passage of the Kirk depression across France, the winds will strengthen on the Atlantic arc from this Wednesday afternoon, then will cross the whole of France towards Lorraine during the night from Wednesday to Thursday”, indicates La Chaine Meteo. The mountain ranges will experience stormy winds at altitude, particularly the Pyrenees. Wind gusts will reach 100 to 110 km/h on the Aquitaine coast in the afternoon, and until 150 km/h in the high mountains. “These strong winds spread in the evening across the entire southwest and the Massif Central (very poor weather conditions at altitude in Auvergne)”, specifies La Chaine Meteo.
< p>La Chaîne Météo estimates that 27 departments will be on orange alert for Wednesday, starting at 5 a.m., before the passage of Storm Kirk. 9 are for strong winds: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Côte-d'Or, Gironde, Haute-Marne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrenees, Saône-et-Loire and Haute-Vienne. The other 18 are for heavy rain: Ardennes, Aube, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Sarthe, Seine-et-Marne, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne, Yonne and Essonne.
There are now 25 departments that are on orange alert in view of the passage of storm Kirk expected this Wednesday. Three departments in the north-east have been added to the list of 17 territories placed on alert for rain and flooding: the Ardennes, the Marne and the Aube.
The other five departments are placed on orange alert for strong winds, such as the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Hautes-Pyrénées, or for flood risk, such as the Vosges, Haute-Saône and Saône-et-Loire.
Storm Kirk continues to progress in the Atlantic and the first effects of its approach will be felt from this Tuesday evening on the Atlantic coast, particularly in the Pays de la Loire. Heavy rains preceding the depression are expected in Vendée, warns Météo France. But it is indeed on Wednesday that the storm will sweep across France with heavy rains from Vendée to Lorraine, in the Grand Est. The trajectory of the depression should follow this axis diagonally from the centre-west or north-east. East to north winds forecast on this same line, but over a wider area. The storm will evacuate the country during the day of Thursday, October 10 towards the northeast with the last significant precipitations in the east and up to the Alps.
The orange alert for rain and flooding draws a line from Pays de la Loire to Ile-de-France and encompassing 17 departments: the entire Ile-de-France region – Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines and Paris – as well as Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire, Sarthe, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret and Eure-et-Loir.
And these departments are added two South-West departments on alert for strong winds: Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées.
Météo France has just announced 19 orange alerts for Wednesday, October 9, in anticipation of the passage of storm Kirk. Two departments in the Pyrénées are on alert for winds from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. because “gusts could reach 120 to 150 km/h on the peaks and 100 to 110 km/h in the valleys and plains”. 17 other departments are on rain and flood watch from the coastline of the Pays de la Loire to the Ile-de-France region. “The totals over the whole day will be very significant, they could reach 40 to 60 mm in the Paris basin and 60 to 80 mm, or even locally 90 mm heading towards the Pays de la Loire and Vendée”. precise Météo France.
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