Météo-France has placed 13 departments on orange alert for the day of Thursday, October 17. An “intense rainstorm episode” is hitting the south of France and significant rainfall is expected.
The weather remains very turbulent in the south of the country. Météo-France is extending orange alerts for rain-floods, violent storms or floods to 13 departments this Thursday, October 17, compared to five this Wednesday. The alert concerns the south of the country, from the Atlantic coast to the Alps.
In detail, five departments are affected by orange vigilance for the risk of violent storms in the 6 a.m. bulletin from Météo-France: Aude, Hérault, Lozère, Gard and Alpes-Maritimes.
Thirteen are affected by an orange rain-flood vigilance: Loire, Haute-Loire, Corrèze, Lot, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Tarn, Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche, Gard and Alpes-Martimes. Finally, Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche and Gard are affected by an orange flood alert.
“Stormy precipitation will intensify”
This “intense rain-storm episode (…) requires particular monitoring due to its intensity and duration” with “uncertainties about the location of the strongest storms and the heaviest precipitation”, Météo-France warned late this Wednesday October 16.
The Cévennes episode continues and more generally “a depression system is rising over the country and stormy precipitation will intensify in many regions”, according to the agency.
During the night, we recorded more than 200 mm of rain since the start of the episode on the relief of the Cévennes and Vivarais. “And occasionally up to 400 mm in the Lozère Cévennes and the Ardèche mountains”, specified Météo-France.
The situation therefore remains “very disturbed” with uncertainties about the location of the strongest storms and the heaviest precipitation.
As a precaution, in the Alpes-Maritimes, all establishments welcoming young people, from nurseries to high schools, will remain closed this Thursday, as had already been the case on October 8, announced the prefect. In Nice, parks will be closed and measures to shelter homeless people have been taken by the city.
In Gard, school transport is canceled in the northern half of the territory. In Lozère, school transport is suspended in the south-east of the department
