Storm and rain in the south: the Mediterranean episode promises to be very early

The south-east of France is currently facing the first Mediterranean episode of the season: an event that occurs in mid-August, when the phenomenon is rather characteristic of autumn! Is it unprecedented?

A depression is setting up over the Bay of Biscay this Tuesday afternoon and it is propellingair charges on a Mediterranean sea overheated at 28°C on the French coasts. A situation weather report typical of autumn which arrives this year very early and which each time generates violent storms, stationary, and very rainy. High water temperatures will likely have as a result of intensifying more rain.

Gard, Hérault, Aude, Tarn and Aveyron will be swept away by impressive accumulations of rain by Wednesday evening: 90 to 130 mm, possibly 200 mm in the Cévennes, with a major risk offloods because dry soils will be unable to absorb water. The sea will also be rough and it is not impossible that swirling phenomena such as tornadoes or waterspouts form in thunderstorms.

A rare event in August, but not unprecedented

This type of Mediterranean episode, like the meteorologists call it, can happen at any season. However, autumn remains the most favorable period, while summer is much less so. July and August are generally the two driest months of the year, and a Mediterranean episode at this time is very rare. However, the situation is not unprecedented: similar phenomena have already occurred in recent years, particularly in August 2006 and August 2018, also after a heat wave.

After one heat wave early in June, a remarkable succession of waves of heat and an drought historic, this Mediterranean episode in August is part of a truly exceptional summer context.