Storm Renata is sweeping a large part of the north of the country, with winds reaching more than 120 km/h. Some cities have closed access to public places as a precaution.
After the good weather, the storm. A new very active depression, named Renata, crosses all of France this Monday, April 15, 2024. In Boulogne-sur-Mer, around 1 p.m., the wind blew up to 124 km/h. The wind did not spare the interior, in Valenciennes for example, Météo France recorded gusts of 90 km/h. The wind blew strong in the North and Pas-de-Calais. Both departments were on strong wind orange alert until 4 p.m.
They were then downgraded to yellow vigilance by Météo France. “But caution remains in order,” warns the meteorological organization. “The entire region remains on yellow ‘wind’ alert until 10 p.m. due to gusts around 70 to 90 km/h which remain possible under showers expected between this late afternoon and early night.” A gale that is associated with showers and a drop in temperatures. After a summer weekend, the mercury dropped between 6 and 10 degrees in a northern third and 8 to 13 degrees further south, down to 13 to 16 degrees near the Mediterranean this Monday.
Closed parks and gardens
As a precaution, SNCF also interrupted TER traffic for a large part of the afternoon on certain lines. The prefectures advise people to be careful when traveling, particularly when returning from work or school. As a precautionary measure, many cities have announced the closure of several sites, such as Nancy town hall which has decided to close its parks, gardens and cemeteries from 4 p.m. The gradual reopening of the sites will take place from Tuesday, according to city services. In Lille, the funfair is also affected by its preventive closures. The climatic phenomenon will evacuate through Alsace and Germany in the early evening.