Météo France places five departments on orange rain-flood vigilance this Monday, October 23 and until tomorrow. The equivalent of a month of rain could fall in places according to forecasts.
A new series of vigilance begins this Monday, October 23. As a depression rises over the country, Meteo France places five departments on orange rain-flood vigilance: Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère and Jura. The alert should only be active from 9 p.m., but is expected to last until at least midday on Tuesday.
This is a new Cévennes episode which is emerging according to Météo France forecasts and we must be extra vigilant because this intense rain-storm phenomenon risks being accompanied by significant accumulations of precipitation over a short period of time: between 70 and 100 mm out of the five departments on alert, it is therefore the equivalent of three weeks or even a month of rain which could fall in a few hours. Precipitation could still be heavy in the Ardèche Cévennes and in Ain with between 100 and 150 mm of rain expected locally according to the Weather Channel.
In addition to the rains, the Bernard depression could bring violent winds to certain regions, notably the Pyrenees ridges, the Autan corridor, the Massif Central and the coast of the Gulf of Lion. This wind could reach 90 km/h or even gusts of 100 km/h in the Massif Central.
If Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère and Jura are the only departments on orange vigilance, 37 others are on yellow vigilance. The Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Rhône and Doubs are on the axis which could be most affected by the Bernard depression and are warned by a yellow rain-flood vigilance. Yellow wind and storm alerts also concern a large part of the country in the axis which extends from the Pyrenees or Jura.