Violent winds of more than 110 km/h are blowing in Bouches-du-Rhône this Friday. A common phenomenon in winter which should continue next week.
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Be careful of strong gusts. This Friday, December 20, strong gusts are blowing across Bouches-du-Rhône. The department is placed on yellow alert from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Place Castellane, in Marseille, a piece of building fell on the terrace of a café. A security perimeter was set up by firefighters.
“A north to northwest wind is expected, blowing in gusts at 100/110 km/h on a Salon / Etang-de-Berre / Marseille axis. It may occasionally be a little stronger on the Calanques and ridges”indicates the prefecture of Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’azur.
This mistral storm should then dissipate on Saturday before returning with a vengeance on Sunday. “There will first be a westerly wind on Sunday which will bring cloudy showers”explains Paul Marquis, independent independent meteorologist and founder of E-Meteo Service, adding that we should expect gusts of 70 km/h along the coast and falling temperatures again.
The mistral will return on Monday with gusts of 110 km/h again and those until December 25 inclusive.
“We had the arrival of cold air from the north which triggered the deepening of a depression in the Gulf of Genes last night. This phenomenon opposed high pressures coming from the Atlantic”explains Paul Marquis. The difference in pressure between the two anticyclones created the mistral storm.
Next week’s mistral storm results from the difference between the low pressures of Corsica, Italy and Greece and the high pressures of the Atlantic.
“It’s quite common at that time”explains the meteorologist who does prevention work with Marseille town hall.
Looking in his archives, he notes that an identical phenomenon took place on December 20 and 21, 2023, with gusts of more than 105 km/h in Marseille. Same thing on December 25, 2020 with winds over 110 km/h.
These gusts have already caused damage in Marseille. In a tweet from Paul Marquis, we observe a large tree on the ground in La Ciotat.
Town halls have already taken security measures. Parks in Marseille are closed all day on December 20, including Borély Park. The “Waiting for Christmas” parade scheduled for the same day has been canceled.
