A new storm on way to France: Brittany on alert
Storm Ashley will bring heavy rain from Sunday
The effects of Storm Ashley will be concentrated on the north-west of the country, which has been placed on alert for flooding
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The Atlantic depression known as ‘Storm Ashley’ will reach Brittany today (October 20), with all departments in the region placed on alert by the French weather service due to the danger of heavy rain and flooding.
The storm has been called a “weather bomb” by forecasters due to the rapid loss of pressure it will see on landfall.
Its effects in France will be concentrated on the north and north-west of the country where gales of 70km/h and around 50mm of rain are expected from Sunday afternoon.
The full force of Storm Ashley will instead strike Ireland and the UK, bringing heavy rain and gales of up to 130km/h on Sunday and Monday.
The storm is forecast to lose intensity on Monday as it continues its westerly course.
Third named storm in ten days
Ashley will be the third named storm to reach France in the past 10 days, however it is not expected to be the worst.
Storm Kirk, on October 10, brought the highest autumn rainfall in over 100 years to Paris.
This was followed by Storm Leslie, on October 17, which caused one death as over 600mm of rain fell on the Cévennes, in what Prime Minister Michel Barnier called the “most violent episode Cévenol in 40 years”.
“Ashley will be more classic and much less intense in terms of its influence on France, even if the storm looming over Ireland is a weather bomb,” meteorologist Yann Amice told Actu.fr.
Nonetheless, the French weather service Météo France has placed all of Brittany on (yellow) alert due to heavy rain and the possibility of local flooding.
Many other departments remain on alert following the recent wet weather, particularly Gironde, where the Garonne river has been measured at one metre above its normal level near Bordeaux.
The department has been placed on high (orange) alert due to the danger of flooding.
Clear skies for most of France
The southern half and east of France should enjoy relatively clear and dry weather on Sunday and Monday and highs of 25C in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, 24C in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and 24C in Ajaccio, Corsica.
