Heightened flood warnings maintained in south-west France

Warnings over high river levels are in place in over two-thirds of French departments today (December 15) after steady rainfall across most of the country this week.

In the south-west, alerts remain at a heightened tier-three orange level in Dordogne, Charente, Charente-Maritime, and Gironde.

These departments have already suffered from flooding, particularly the Dordogne, where the Vézère river burst its banks close to the Lascaux cave system.

Read more: PHOTOS: Floods across south-west France as rivers burst banks

Weather experts say the rivers reached the peak of their high levels yesterday (December 14) and whilst still high should begin to recede.

You can keep up to date with official weather warnings on the official Météo Francewebsite and get more information about river flooding on the official Vigicrues website.

What will the weekend weather look like?

The warnings are still in place for Saturday (December 16) on the official Météo France website but it is expected that these will be lifted throughout the course of the day.

This is because there is no rain forecast across France throughout the weekend as cold, dry winds cover most of the country.

These winds are set to bring temperatures down across the country, particularly in the north and centre, bringing frost to these areas.

No further rainfall is expected until at least next Tuesday (December 19), with the dry spell possibly lasting further into next week.

However, a wet – not white – Christmas is predicted, with high-pressure winds set to arrive in France just prior to the holiday season, bringing rainfall back to most areas except the Mediterranean.

This may also cause river levels to rise again as they may not have receded completely to normal levels before this dependent on the force of the rainfall.

Read also

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What to do (and not do) during heavy rain and flood alerts in France