Storm and flood alerts raised in southern France

Southern France is bracing for a new round of powerful storms, with heightened warnings being issued over flash flooding and stormy conditions tonight (October 6).

Stormy conditions will move in from the western coast today, bringing fleeting storms to the south-west and western coast. 

These will move east as the day progresses, becoming more intense once they reach the western Mediterranean. 

Persistent rainfall in the Gard and Hérault departments will turn increasingly violent as the evening progresses, and heightened tier-three orange warnings for storm conditions and heavy rain / flash flooding will come into effect at around 22:00. In its 16:00 bulletin, state forecaster Météo France added Bouches-du-Rhône and Var to the list. 

Currently, the alerts will remain in place until 10:00 Wednesday in the first two departments but last across the day in the latter.

Residents in these departments should prepare their homes, including tying down outdoor furniture and parking vehicles safely away from trees. They should prepare an emergency kit with supplies in the event of a power cut. Full advice, including information if you need to make an insurance claim, is available in our article here.

Elsewhere, less intense tier-two storm alerts are in place from Brittany to the Pyrénées, as well as Corsica and other areas of the south-east.

Residents in departments under these yellow alerts are asked to remain vigilant but no particular action is being advised.

Warnings may change, including heightened alerts being raised in other departments, and residents across the south and west are encouraged to keep up to date with local reports.

Storms are expected to continue into Wednesday, particularly in the centre and east of the country, but may also continue to affect parts of the west.

Second bout of powerful ‘Mediterranean storms’ 

The storms hitting the Hérault and Gard are ‘épisodes méditerranéens’, high-intensity storms that can affect the Mediterranean coastline and inland areas up to the Cévennes and Alps mountains. 

“Every autumn, southern France can be struck by torrential rains. Sometimes, the equivalent of several months' worth of precipitation falls in just a few hours,” says state forecaster Météo France. It has an explainer video about the storm formation, available below. 

This is the second épisode in as many weeks, and last week Gard and Hérault saw extreme flooding following intense rain. 

Conditions this time will be less intense – Météo France predicts between 80mm and 120mm falling, whereas last week more than 300mm fell in some areas – but the risk of flooding remains pronounced.

Rain falling in such intensity and quick succession, particularly in ‘stationary storms’ where clouds do not move, can see areas inundated with sudden and fierce rain, with nowhere for water to escape to.