After the very heavy rainfall of the last few hours between the departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude and Hérault, it is Corsica's turn to be affected by heavy stormy rain. Haute-Corse has been placed on orange alert by Météo-France.
The presence of a depression in the Mediterranean has caused for several hours highly unstable rises coming from the sea. Heavy stormy rains have drenched the Mediterranean departments over the past 48 hours. For example, more than 100 liters of water fell per square meter during the night from Thursday to Friday in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, the heaviest rains having been observed in Torreilles and Canet-en-Roussillon.
Last night, the most intense precipitation affected the department of Hérault, with accumulations which locally approached or even exceeded 60 liters of water per square meter. Fortunately, most of the precipitation remained concentrated at sea.
It is now the turn of Corsica, and in particular of its eastern facade, to be affected by these bad weather, with sometimes very rainy storms expected over the next few hours. What should you actually expect? Find our latest forecasts in this article.
Haute-Corse placed on orange vigilance
This morning, at 10 o'clock, Météo-France has placed the Haute-Corse department on orange alert for heavy rains likely to cause flooding. The institute specifies that it is mainly the eastern side of the island which is concerned, while the western side should be relatively spared.
This orange vigilance will begin from 2 p.m. in the Haute-Corse department. For the moment, the island is still relatively spared with only a few showers. However, from the beginning of the afternoon, precipitation is expected to rapidly intensify and affect the eastern side of the island.
What should you actually expect?
In its vigilance bulletin, Météo-France specifies that the precipitation will intensify significantly from midday and continue until the end of the night from Saturday to Sunday.
The heaviest precipitation should mainly concern the eastern side of Corsica, in particular the department of Haute-Corse, over the next few hours.
Up to 150 liters of water per square meter?
Under these sometimes very intense stormy showers, cumulative rain could reach 30 to 50 liters of water per square meter in just one hour.
Within 3 to 6 hours, accumulations could be around 80 to 120 liters of water per square meter, according to Météo-France.
Throughout the episode, the institute specifies that the accumulations risk occasionally reaching 150 liters of water per square meter, or even a little more.
According to the latest forecasts, orange vigilance should be lifted tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., despite the persistence of unstable weather over a large part of the island throughout the day on Sunday.
