Météo France places three departments on orange alert for rain and flooding, Saturday March 9. These are Ardèche, Var and Alpes-Maritimes. What should you expect?
From Saturday March 9, the departments of Ardèche, Var and Alpes-Maritimes are placed on orange rain and flood alert, Météo France announced on Friday March 8. Bad weather is expected to occur from 4 p.m. on Saturday in Ardèche, and around 6 p.m. in Var and the Alpes-Maritimes. The meteorological service warns of a “first rainy spell” which concerns the Mediterranean regions at the end of the day this Friday. “After a lull tomorrow morning, a new rainy episode will concern [l’Ardèche, le Var et les Alpes-Maritimes]. It will be more substantial,” writes Météo France in its Friday report.
The equivalent of a month of rain in 12 hours
The BFMTV meteorological service estimates that in less than twelve hours, the three departments placed on orange vigilance will receive as much rain as in the space of a month. He specifies that “a lot of waves” and “wind” are also expected.
Friday and Saturday, Charente-Maritime remains on orange flood alert. In the Cévennes and the PACA region (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), intense rain is expected in the afternoon of Saturday. In the Cévennes, the accumulations “will be between 150 and 250mm. In the east of the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, the accumulations will be between 100 and 120mm, locally more”, adds the weather institute. “This episode will end on Sunday morning,” assures Météo France.