Bad weather will follow one another in the coming days.
Among the events to watch out for, the first occurs starting this Monday evening.
This new Mediterranean episode runs until Wednesday.
This type of phenomenon describes bad weather that occurs in regions bordering the Mediterranean.
It is characterized by sudden and heavy precipitation which tends to stagnate.
It mainly occurs at the end of summer and during the fall, but it can occur at other times of the year as is currently the case since the end of winter.
This will be the fifth phenomenon of its kind since February.
This Monday evening, the first significant precipitation will approach the country from the west and the south.
Along the Mediterranean, they intensify significantly during the night as well as on Tuesday before the rains move away and leave the territory to the east during the day on Wednesday.
If the accumulations should be lower than during recent episodes, more than 120 mm of water could fall in 36 hours, or more than 120 liters per square meter, as shown in this map from The Weather Channel.
💦💦The episode of heavy #rain expected between Monday evening and Wednesday morning will mainly be in the Cévennes with accumulations of up to 120 millimeters, the equivalent of 3 weeks of precipitation.
#Floods are expected on the rivers descending from the Cévennes.
pic.twitter.com/jks8d0Qupk
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) March 25, 2024
It is the Cévennes sector which would be particularly affected.
Locally it could even drop up to 150 liters per square meter.
In total this corresponds to three weeks to one month of average precipitation.
The depression in question will be accompanied by strong gusts of wind.
They will be between 60 km/h and 70 km/h in the region at the end of the day this Monday.
On Tuesday, they will strengthen and could approach 100 km/h in Bouches-du-Rhône and Hérault.
🌬️In addition to the #rain, the #wind will also be an aggravating factor with the #Autan wind and the east wind which will significantly strengthen, up to 100 to 110 km/h on the coast.
pic.twitter.com/cJ4KJgBLak
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) March 25, 2024
In anticipation of the arrival of these bad weather, Météo France has already placed the department of Hérault on orange vigilance (level 3 out of 4) due to a risk of wave-submersion.
The neighboring departments are on yellow alert (level 2 out of 4).
This same level of alert is also required in four departments (Gard, Ardèche, Hérault and Lozère) due to the risk of flooding that cumulative rain poses to this area of the country.
The entire sector is also on yellow alert due to the wind.
This Mediterranean episode will also have consequences in the mountains.
The rain-snow limit should be quite low in the Massif Central, the Pyrenees and the Alps and go down to around 1000 m, or even lower.
Météo France even mentions a limit of 500 m altitude in the center-east of France for Tuesday evening.
The accumulations could reach several tens of centimeters over the entire episode.