La Manche is the last department on red alert this Thursday, November 2 because it is exposed to the violent winds of storm Ciaran. 23 other departments are on orange alert, the material damage is significant and the Minister of Transport has announced one death on the road due to bad weather.
The essential
- Storm Ciaran continues to cross France this Thursday, November 2. If Finistère and Côtes-d’Armor have been downgraded to orange vigilance, the Channel remains on red vigilance until mid-morning according to Météo-France forecasts.
- 23 other departments in the northwest are on orange alert for violent winds, waves-submersions or thunderstorms this Thursday. Storm Ciaran leaves Brittany and is now heading towards Normandy.
- Winds of more than 190 km/h, even 200 km/h, were recorded overnight on the tip of Finistère. The violent gusts have already caused significant damage: fallen electrical poles and several falling trees. More than 1.2 million households are deprived of electricity and/or telephone network, including 780,000 in Brittany.
- A truck driver was killed on a road in Aisne, Transport Minister Clément Beaune told Franceinfo. The man was apparently the victim of a tree falling on his vehicle.
Live
08:33 – Storm Ciaran left one dead in Aisne
Storm Ciaran caused some injuries, notably two in the department of Mayenne according to the local branch of France Bleu and two others in Finistère, but it also caused the death of a truck driver in Aisne, reported the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune, this morning on Franceinfo. “A tree fell on his vehicle,” said the minister. And the member of the government added: “This shows that even in the departments which are not on red alert, there are very strong risks.”
08:27 – Brittany, Normandy and Hauts de France in orange
23 departments, notably those in the Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France regions, remain on orange alert for violent winds and waves-submersions due to Storm Ciaran this Thursday. These alerts, which may still evolve, must last at least until 8 p.m. for winds, until tomorrow for submersion waves. The departments of the Atlantic coast, in particular those of Nouvelle Aquitaine, are also on alert for the risks of seeing strong waves forming.
08:20 – Only one department left on red alert
The red alert for violent winds was lifted in Finistère and Côtes d’Armor this Thursday morning after the passage of storm Ciaran which is gradually leaving Brittany. La Manche is the last department placed on maximum alert for the wind as the storm is heading towards Normandy. Red vigilance is expected to last until 10 hours according to Météo-France.
Everything you need to know about the storm
Submergence forecasts and risks
Gusts of up to 150 km/h and waves of 10 meters
A large northwest quarter will be swept by storm Ciaran and its violent winds. The gusts should be more powerful on the Breton and Normandy coasts with gusts between 120 and 150 km/h. The French Observatory for Tornadoes and Violent Thunderstorms reports peaks of up to 160 km/h locally. And if it should gradually lose power as it sinks further inland, the wind should remain violent: gusts between 110 and 120 km/h over Normandy and the Pays de la Loire and between 90 and 110 km/h. h approaching Ile-de-France are announced. The storm could even blow as far as the limits of Hauts-de-France and New Aquitaine.
The wind from Storm Ciaran should be accompanied by a “submersion wave phenomenon” with “very strong waves expected” across the entire Atlantic coast. Météo France announces waves between 8 and 10 meters all around the ocean. The Kéraunos observatory fears waves measuring up to 13 meters. It will be necessary to be vigilant to the risk of submersion and flooding which will be reinforced by the fairly low atmospheric pressure which will raise the water level. “Sometimes sustained” precipitation is also mentioned by forecasters.
The risks of wave-submersion are particularly feared in the departments on the Atlantic coast already affected by storm Céline during the last weekend of October. Floods have already occurred in certain coastal towns such as Cap-Ferret, Noirmoutier, Quimper and Pornic and the tides were higher.
In addition to the wind, the values of which remain to be refined, the depression #Ciaran will generate a strong swell (period 15/17 sec).
Significant wave heights are expected to exceed 13 m in the Atlantic on Thursday morning. pic.twitter.com/SE7HUPh9jM— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) October 30, 2023
Which regions will be affected?
Brittany will be affected and could be the region most exposed to Storm Ciaran. Three of its departments are already on orange alert for the night of November 1 to 2, because it is through the Breton tip that the depression will arrive in France before sinking into the lands of the northwest quarter. The Breton coastline and the Normandy coasts should be monitored.
The lands of Normandy and Pays-de-la-Loire could also be affected, as well as the regions of Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France and Centre-Val de Loire although in these territories the risk seems less significant for the moment according to Météo-France.
To a lesser extent, some departments in the southwest, notably Gironde and Landes, could be swept by the tail of the storm during the night of November 2 to 3 with winds at 100 km/h and waves between 6 and 7 meters. , or even up to 10 meters exceptionally in the Bay of Biscay. Note that the final trajectory of the storm has not yet been finalized and the forecasts could be adjusted.
A storm strengthened by the jet stream
Storm Ciaran is expected to gain strength as it crosses the Atlantic. This depression coming from the American continent swells under the effect of the very powerful winds of the “jet stream”. The current is a sort of corridor several thousand kilometers long in which depressions circulate freely. It marks, as it were, the separation between the cold air coming from the north pole and the warm air coming from the tropics, a contrast which only reinforces the depressions.