The storm season is starting around the Mediterranean. The south of France will not be spared. While the bad weather has remained moderate so far in our country, storm activity has been increasing since this week and should reach its maximum intensity from Wednesday evening to Thursday noon. This is the passage of a depression rising from Spanish Catalonia towards the Rhone delta and then evacuating towards Italy on Thursday afternoon. This relative mobility of the system will avoid causing a Mediterranean episode which is characterized by sustained torrential rains. After the storm front passes, the tramontane will rise, evacuating the depression fairly quickly.
Risk period: night from Wednesday to Thursday
Rainfall accumulations expected from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening © The Weather Channel
The weather will become very stormy from the afternoon of this Wednesday, with the rise of a disturbance coming from Catalonia. The region should expect violent storms also during the day, as well as the Balearic Islands. These storms, accompanied by a temporary sea wind, will become widespread in Languedoc-Roussillon in the afternoon, heading towards the Cévennes and the lower Rhone valley in the afternoon. It is advisable to take all the usual precautions in the face of this rain storm deterioration.
The maximum intensity of the storms is expected in the evening and during the night all along the Côte d’Azur and then during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, in particular from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes. A stormy wave is also sweeping Corsica.
Very quickly, on Thursday morning, these storms will affect the entire PACA region while the tramontane will quickly clear the skies of Languedoc-Roussillon, putting an end to the episode.
This relative brevity will not allow us to speak of a Mediterranean episode. But these will still be storms of high intensity with intense rainfall accumulations in a short time. This situation, for which we are in weather alertcould lead to flooding, runoff and gusts of wind. By midday, improvement will be rapid with the lifting of the westerly wind.
Our two maps below clearly show the fairly rapid evolution of the depression in the Mediterranean, limiting the duration of the episode. Note that for the following days, the context will remain depressed, under the influence of cold drops circulating over France, and potentially causing other potentially strong storms.
A depression will circulate in the Gulf of Lion this Wednesday evening © The Weather Channel
Depression to move away towards Italy expected Thursday afternoon © The Weather Channel
This stormy episode will therefore be classic for the season, but with a notable intensity inciting caution. But after a delicate sequence of 3 to 06 hours, the west wind will bring a general improvement. But let’s keep in mind that at this time of year, Mediterranean storms are often very powerful, and that the context will remain unstable in the coming days, including during the week-end.
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