Of
Monday December 23 at 11:00 a.m. au
Monday December 23 at 5:00 p.m.
Situation
A depression named Enol deepened north of Scotland on Saturday before plunging into the Mediterranean on Monday. Fed by maritime polar air and by a very powerful high-altitude jet stream at nearly 250 km/h, this depression is the cause of very turbulent weather in the south and east of France until this Monday.
A situation which complicates access to ski resorts. Indeed, heavy falls occur in the mountains, bringing a blizzard with violent winds. The avalanche risk becomes high this Monday.
With the very slight mild spell in the plains, the snow is melting this afternoon, favoring driving conditions below 700 m altitude.
Parallel to the passage of this depression, with the plunge of polar air into the Mediterranean, violent winds sweep the south-east, in the form of violent mistral and turbulent tramontane until Monday evening. The wind falls in Corsica.
During this episode of bad weather, we wait
– violent winds in the mountains at more than 100 km/h
– a violent gale near the Mediterranean this Monday at more than 100 km/h until Monday noon with gusts reaching 130 to 140 km/h on exposed capes.
Observation
A 15h
The wind is still blowing strongly in the Mediterranean, especially on exposed reliefs and capes. In La Ciotat (13), we still record up to 127 km/h; in Vidauban (83) 120 km/h. The wind will continue to blow throughout the afternoon, while gradually weakening in the late afternoon and evening, no longer requiring a special press release from our services.
A 11h
The wind blows strongly in the south-east, but is mainly confined to the reliefs (hinterlands) and exposed capes (around 100 km/h in the south of the Var). The gusts remain strong in the mountains (100 to 110 km/h) as well as in Roussillon (105 km/h in Perpignan).
We recorded 134 km/h in Hyères, a monthly record exceeding the 115 km/h of December 2003.
Snowfall persists in the center-east and has whitened the large intramountain valleys. We noted 6 cm in Annecy (74).
Evolution
This Monday afternoon, the bad weather ends, replaced by calmer and anticyclonic weather subsequently, which is why this special press release will be lifted. However, the mistral and the tramontane persist until the evening in their domains with gusts still reaching 100 km/h, as well as in the mountains.
During this episode of bad weather, we expect:
– violent winds in the mountains at more than 100 km/h
– a violent gale near the Mediterranean this Monday at more than 100 km/h until Monday noon with gusts reaching 130 to 140 km/h.
