This Saturday March 12, a good part of the south of France is in the rain. The departments of Aude and Hérault are on orange alert “rain-flood”. Update on today’s weather.
It’s going to rain, and it’s going to rain a lot, this Saturday March 12, when part of Languedoc is facing a Mediterranean episode that Meteo France qualifies as “atypical for the season”.
orange vigilance
Since 6 a.m. this Saturday, forecasters have placed the departments of Hérault and Aude on orange vigilance “rain-flood”. Indeed, in these two departments, where the rain has been falling since Friday, the accumulations of the last hours will be reinforced by the precipitation expected throughout the day.
“On the Hérault, the precipitation is continuous and occurs in particular in the already well-watered areas of the west of the department. In the afternoon and evening, the heavy precipitation extends again towards the east, Espinouse, Cévennes and first reliefs”, indicates Météo France.
Important accumulations
On the cumulative side, the hinterland will be more affected: “close to 100 to 150 mm generalized on the relief of the hinterland, with peaks around 200 mm”, indicate the forecasters, for the department of Hérault .
In the Aude, the bulk of the precipitation will take place “in the east of the department mainly between Montagne Noire and Minervois and the region of Leucate with intensities of the order of 15 to 20 mm / h”.
Weather Languedoc estimates that between Friday and Monday, the accumulations can be very important locally and reach up to 500 mm. Forecasters expect “50 à 100 mm on the coastal plains of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales100 to 150 mm on the low plains of Héraultquickly 200 mm going inland then 300 to 400 mm on the foothills of western Hérault. It is between Bédarieux, Olargues, Prémian and Saint-Pons-de-Thommières that we are waiting the largest accumulations with points of 400 to 500 mm”.
How will the situation evolve?
We will have to be patient before the good weather returns. According to Météo France, “on the Hérault, no significant improvement is expected before Monday. Thus, over a period of 3 days, accumulations of the order of 300 to 400 mm are expected on the Haut- Languedoc and the south of the Cévennes”.
Météo Languedoc also warns of the continuation of the rains this Sunday. “The rainy axis will persist in the same sectors. To this will be added the passage of an anomaly in the afternoon. For a few hours, the rains could strengthen even more on the Hérault before a small lull at the end of the day and evening. The episode will not be finished with the resumption of the rains in the night.
The opportunity to warn about the risk of flooding that this type of episode can cause, which, if it does not reach the levels of intensity that we can experience in autumn, nevertheless deserves to be monitored.