Météo-France has issued a new storm and flood watch for Thursday, October 17, placing nine southern departments in orange, which will lead to school closures, especially in the Alpes-Maritimes.
As a precaution, in this Southeastern department, all establishments that welcome young people, from daycare centers to secondary schools, will remain closed on Thursday, as already happened on October 8, the prefect announced. In Nice, parks will be closed and the city has taken measures to house the homeless. In Gard, school transportation is canceled in the northern half of the territory. In Lozère, school transport is suspended in the southeast of the department.
This “intense storm episode (…) “It requires special monitoring due to its intensity and duration” with “Uncertainties about the location of the strongest storms and heaviest rainfall”indicates the organization in its 10:00 p.m. bulletin.
Gard, Lozère and Ardèche, the last three departments that remain on orange alert for “rain flooding” on Wednesday afternoon, will be joined on Thursday by the Alpes-Maritimes, Aveyron, Corrèze, Lot, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Tarn.
Ardèche and Gard will also remain on orange alert for “flooding”, while strong storms are expected in the Alpes-Maritimes, Gard and Lozère.
The Cévennes episode therefore continues and, in general, “A low pressure system is rising over the country and stormy precipitation will intensify in many regions”according to Météo-France.
Accumulations have reached between 150 and 200 millimeters since the beginning of the episode, occasionally reaching between 300 and 350 millimeters in Lozère Cévennes. On Wednesday morning, the SNCF decided to completely interrupt rail traffic between Alès (Gard) and Langogne (Lozère) until Friday morning. “for the safety of travelers and in order to avoid any incident”.
In the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, rainfall began on Wednesday night and could cause significant accumulations in the Basque mountains. In the Alpes-Maritimes, rain is expected from Thursday midday, with a break overnight from Thursday to Friday. Finally, in Corrèze, Lot, Tarn and Aveyron, precipitation is expected from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning with possible peaks of about 100 millimeters towards Lot and west of Aveyron.
