Autumn arrives in France this week with rain and lower temperatures
Four departments in the northwest will be under an alert for strong winds tonight. Warmer weather is expected again next weekend
October’s unusually warm weather is set to come to a – perhaps temporary – end this week, with lower temperatures, rain and wind expected
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Lower temperatures, accompanied by rain and strong winds, are expected to arrive in France this week after a month of October defined by record-breaking warm weather.
Read more: This October set to be warmest on record in France
Four departments in northwestern France – Finistère, Morbihan, Côtes-d’Armor and Manche – will be under an orange alert for high winds tonight between 21:00 and 03:00, with gusts of 110-130km/h expected on the coast and 90-110km/h inland.
Read more: Areas of Brittany and Normandy under alert tonight for violent winds
On Tuesday (November 1), the wind is set to spread across the north of France, with gusts of 60km/h forecast in Reims and Metz and 70km/h in Lille and Amiens.
The wind will also linger over Brittany, reaching 80km/h in Brest before conditions calm on Wednesday.
The blustery conditions will be joined by a slight drop in temperatures, although it will still feel warmer than what is usual for the season.
Today (October 31), it will generally be warm across France, with highs of 26C in Occitanie and the mercury reaching 20C across much of the rest of the country. However, significant cloud cover is expected.
On Tuesday, it will be 14C in Aurillac and 17C in Paris and La Rochelle. Wednesday is expected to be slightly warmer, bringing a high of 21C in Perpignan and temperatures of around 16-17C in the north.
Temperatures will continue to fall as the week wears on, fluctuating between 11C and 15C on the mainland, and reaching a maximum of 20C in Ajaccio (Corsica).
Rain is forecast across much of the country on Thursday, and although the weather is set to be bright and sunny on Friday, temperatures will be around 11-17C.
A new warm spell is expected to begin on November 5 – when the 20C threshold should be crossed once again in the south – so the drop in temperatures may not last long.
This October has been the warmest France has seen since 1945, and temperatures have regularly reached 30C in the south.
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