Snow, sleet, but also rain and a risk of flooding. The Gloria depression which rages in the Mediterranean begins to affect the south of France.
Météo France places the Pyrénées-Orientales department on orange alert (level 3 of 4) this Monday because of the snow and ice. The neighboring departments of Ariège and Aude are on yellow alert (level 2 of 4) for the same phenomena.
The alert really starts from this Monday evening. But the first rains already concern the region. The rain-snow limit will drop very low, below 300 m altitude. At this height, the layer of snow should reach 10 cm; around 1000 meters it will climb up to 30 cm.
“In the morning of Tuesday, the milder air reaches the whole department. The rain-snow limit will rise above 1,000 m to be around 1,300 m to 1,500 m at midday. The snowy episode will then be replaced by a notable rainy episode in this department, ”warns the meteorological organization.
Heavy rainfall in Corsica
By Thursday, Météo France estimates that the cumulative precipitation will reach, or even exceed 300 mm, or 300 liters per square meter. Such an amount in such a short time is highly likely to cause flooding and landslides. Above 1,800 m above sea level, snow depths will vary between 1 m and 2.5 m. In addition, this depression will cause strong waves and significant precipitation in Corsica too.
Tonight, start of an episode of # intense and heavy rain # snow in #PyreneesOrientales: loc. + 300mm in 72h (1m to 2.5m of snow in the mountains) expected by Thursday. High risk of # avalanches to follow.
#Episodemediterraneen #Gloria
Stay informed. https://t.co/Y0gBtFNVtN pic.twitter.com/Ig3AEIoyhU
Snow has already started to pose difficulties on the roads. For example, a school bus has been blocked since Monday morning in Sauto, located at over 1,000 m above sea level. About thirty students were on board. In good health, they were taken care of by the emergency services and the police, reports La Dépêche du Midi. They are in the village hall of Fontpédrouse, a little lower and located a few kilometers away. The bus would have slipped on the road of the N116. The prefecture of the department has since closed the road between Villefranche-de-Conflent and Mont-Louis.
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In Spain, Gloria has caused a red alert in several regions. In particular, spectacular and damaging waves have occurred in the Alicante region.
Rough seas off Alicante in #Spain this Monday. The state of the sea will remain very bad for several days. https://t.co/wtWiBEv7Ej
- Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) January 20, 2020