Weather alert: severe bad weather in the South, significant amounts of rain

Busy weather Tuesday and Wednesday in the south of France: an episode of rain and strong waves causes difficulties in the territory.

Several departments are on alert. This Tuesday March 26, 2024, as anticipated by Météo-France, the south of France faces an “episode of strong waves”, specifically around the Gulf of Lion. ;eacute;rault is the most affected. If the Pyrenees-Orientales, Aude, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône are on yellow alert, H'rault is , he, placeé on orange alert for "waves-submersion". The coastline of this department is by far “the most impacted”. noon.

Météo-France adds that "the easterly winds & South-East are strengthening this morning over the north of the Gulf of Lion" and that they "maintain before gradually fading away Tuesday afternoon" . 

The departments of Aude, Gard and Bouches du Rhône are impacted to a lesser extent by the surges of these strong easterly waves South-East, combined with high sea levels, and placed on yellow level wave-submersion alert.

On the other hand, the strong easterly winds generate an easterly swell. North-East spreading to the coast of Roussillon, placed on alert waves-submersion of yellow level.

Météo-France explains that a strengthening of the wind adds to the at the level already at éhighé from sea level are à the origin of this risk of submersion. On X, the department prefecture calls for help. caution "on the coast".  She also remindedé safety rules : "During the orange phase : do not go to sea, do not put yourself out there; water and stop all activity. nautical." The prefecture encourages the public to do not go to beaches or "submersible routes".

The Weather Channel © The Weather Channel

The prefecture indicated that rainfall totals between "30    50 mm on average" with peaks up to 'à 80mm on the plain and “up'à 120mm in the Cévennes" are expected. Regarding the wind, the Hérault prefecture specifies that gusts between "90   agrave; 100km/h" are &agrav; plan.

The Météo Consult institute adds that in "during the night of Tuesdayà Wednesday, sustained and occasionally stormy rains continue in the southeast. As the air mass cools, the snow descends to a higher altitude. increasingly lower altitudes in the Cévennes and the south of the Alps, from 800 à 1000 mètres". We should expect this Wednesday morning & The disturbance quickly evacuated towards Italy and Switzerland in the early morning.

The Météo Channel considers that this éepisode generates "cumulative rainfall of 100 & agrave; 150 mm on the Cévennes summits, which is equivalent to 1 month of precipitation, snow depths of 40 60 cm over the southern Alps, with a high risk of avalanche, maximum gusts of 90-100 km/h from Midi-Toulouse to the south of Central massif à Provence, a strong swell of 3 à 4 m around the Gulf of Lion to the Provençal" coastline.