Heavy rains will create “rapid flood” conditions this week in certain departments of France, indicates La Chaîne Météo.
Be careful, after the sunny days and the heat, the rain. And it should fall with particular intensity between this Tuesday and Thursday in the south of France. The Weather Channel actually fears a Cevennes episode on French territory. What is it about ? This is a phenomenon well known to meteorologists, which generally occurs every autumn, with varying degrees of virulence. And Météo France explains very simply how this Cévennes episode is created, in three stages:
- “Where upward vertical velocities are generated in the atmosphere, the lifted air cools as it gains altitude.
- If cooling is sufficient, condensation of some of the available water vapor occurs.
- If the condensation is significant, the drops become large enough to precipitate.”
Between this Tuesday, October 17 and this Thursday, October 19, we must expect risks of heavy and stormy rains which “could constitute hydrological risks in the south of France”, indicates La Chaîne Météo, which published a “weather alert” for four departments, valid from Tuesday 9 a.m. to Thursday 6 p.m.:
- Gard
- Ardèche
- Lozere
- Hérault
The Météo Chaîne institute indicates that these departments must prepare for several events: “100 to 250 mm of water in the Cévennes, the equivalent of a month to a month and a half of precipitation”; “risks of rapid flooding of Cévennes rivers and flooding in low areas”; “line of storms that are not very mobile, likely to cause significant runoff”; “a strong sea wind of up to 80 km/h raising the sea with waves of 4 m which could cause some local coastal flooding”.
Given the current drought in the south of France, this rain is also good news, particularly for agricultural producers, as it could help renew certain waterways.