Météo-France Places Hérault on Orange Alert from Saturday Evening

Météo‑France places Hérault on orange alert from 6 p.m. this Saturday 17th January, an intense rainy episode which could lead to flooding being expected until Sunday evening.

Météo‑France placed the Hérault department on orange alert this Saturday 17th January from 6pm until Sunday evening, due to a rainy episode that could cause flooding.

According to the agency’s latest bulletin from Météo-France, the rains will become widespread and gradually strengthen on Saturday afternoon. In the evening, they will become more intense and may be accompanied locally by storms, before weakening on Sunday.

Significant rainfall accumulations

The accumulation of rain could be “very substantial” météo France warns: from 100 to 120 mm and up to 150 mm locally in the plains, or even up to 220 mm on the reliefs. That’s the equivalent of 2 to 3 times what normally falls in a month. Furthermore, “a strong east wind” will blow on the coast, with gusts temporarily reaching 80 to 90 km/h.

The departments of Tarn, Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche and Gard are placed on yellow alert. Corsica, which Météo-France places on yellow alert from Sunday due to increasing rain, risks switching to orange rain/flood alert in the next bulletins, warns the meteorological agency.