Some flood alerts still but all of France set for unusually warm spell

Several departments in western France remain subject to heightened weather alerts after a weekend of heavy rain and intense gales coming from the Atlantic Ocean.

This will soon be replaced by a burst of warm weather that is set to affect the entire country with temperatures of 25C forecast for parts of the south and south-west.

Later in the week, the national average temperature is set to reach 10C higher than the February average. Locally, rises could be closer to 12-15C higher than average. Everywhere will be at least 5C warmer than usual.

These warmer temperatures are expected to last until next week (around February 19), after which a sudden shift to lower than average temperatures is forecast.

Gales rock south-west

However, one more day of warnings are in place before the weather calms down, with the south-west in particular affected.

There are tier-three orange alerts in place for river flooding in Charente-Maritime, Landes, Gironde, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

The latter three departments also face tier-two yellow warnings for high winds and waves, as gales of 110 km/h are expected along the coastline.

Further inland, there may be winds of 100 km/h, around the foothills of the Pyrénées.

Elsewhere, around 30 other departments face tier-two alerts, mostly for river-flooding but also high winds, as well as avalanches in mountainous areas.

Summer on Valentine’s Day?

These weather warnings are all set to disperse by the end of the day, and as of 09:00 today, Météo France has not issued any alerts for Tuesday (February 13).

Cloudy skies may be present, but alongside less windy, and slightly warmer weather.

Valentine’s Day (Wednesday February 14) is when temperatures will begin to pick up with the arrival of ‘subtropical’ winds, reaching around 15C in the north, and up to 24C in the south around the Garonne river.

Thursday may see this climb to 25C, again in the south-west.

The rapid temperature rise is caused by the ‘foehn’ effect, which was in part responsible for the heatwaves last summer.

Read more: What is the Foehn effect and how has it intensified France’s heatwave?

This will raise temperatures significantly above average in the Massif Central and Pyrénées areas due to the effects of the winds on the mountain air.

You can keep up to date with all weather alerts through the Météo France website, and information about river levels on the official Vigicrues website.

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