The weather is very mixed this Monday in France. If the day promises to be almost summery in most of the country with sunshine and temperatures between 20°C and 25°C, the situation is very different in the North-West.
Météo France places 14 departments on yellow alert (level 2 out of 4) due to rain and the risk of flooding. They are all located in the North-West and the North and range from Brittany to Hauts-de-France. As a reminder, without constituting a pronounced alert, yellow vigilance nevertheless requires being “attentive”. Spectacular and therefore dangerous phenomena can also occur with this level of vigilance, such as tornadoes and sudden floods.
The meteorological organization mentions “consequent rain in the regions bordering the Channel, particularly in Brittany”. It is in fact the North-West which is most concerned, in particular the border area between Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d’Armor.
As this map shows, up to 40 mm could fall there, or 40 liters per square meter. In a city like Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), this corresponds to 16 average days of rain at this time of year, or a little over two weeks.
Elsewhere, on the axis most exposed to bad weather, it should fall up to 20 mm, locally 30 mm, or up to 30 liters per square meter. In a city like Caen (Calvados), this corresponds almost to two weeks of average precipitation in October.
The Weather Channel is a little more pessimistic for its part. She does not exclude that it could fall up to 60 liters per square meter in places. This would then correspond to the equivalent of three weeks of rain. This event occurs at a time when water tables are very full in most of the country and the absorption capacity of the soil is limited.
This situation is caused by Storm Ashley, which affected Ireland and the United Kingdom before heading towards Norway. The depression causing the bad weather in the North-West is “driven” by this phenomenon, according to Météo France’s term.
The situation will improve at the end of the day, in the evening or at night depending on the region, as the rains end. On Tuesday, the atmosphere will be dry and the sky will be clear in the affected area.
