Gusts of 100 km/h: Strong Winds will Sweep through many Regions this Week across France
Temperatures 6 to 8°C below seasonal averages, and sometimes strong winds from north to south. This Wednesday, Météo France has already activated an alert in several departments.
A descent of air cold, directly from the North Pole, will concern France for this Ascension Bridge. And it will be accompanied by a very cool and sensitive northwest wind from this Wednesday 13th May 2026 in a large northern half, then this cold air will extend towards the south of France from Thursday 14th May.
And in the south, it is the tramontane and, to a lesser extent, the mistral which will rise, until the weekend of Saturday 16th May and Sunday 17th May when these winds are expected to be even stronger and could approach 100 km/h.
Departments already placed on alert for this strong wind
Météo France has already placed the following departments for this very sensitive wind from this Wednesday 13th May:
- Aisne
- Calvados
- Eure
- Manche
- Nord
- Oise
- Pas-de-calais
- Seine-maritime
- Somme
Temperatures for this Ascension Bridge will generally be two to five degrees below normal, or even six to eight degrees below seasonal averages. A cold snap which will really begin this Wednesday 13th May in the north, with even the risk of showers, in a windy atmosphere more reminiscent of the month of March.
Very often less than 15°C at the hottest of the day
This Wednesday, in the north, it will often be less than 15°C at the hottest of the day!
And it won’t get better, therefore, at the end of the week.
Thursday 14th May, holiday from the Ascension, these showers of showers should reach the whole country or almost with sleet in places, accompanied by a moderate northwest wind of 70 or even 80 km/h.
What are showers?
At the end of the winter season, cold air persists at altitude, while the lower layers of the atmosphere gradually warm up. When the temperature difference between these two layers is large enough, powerful ascending currents form unstable clouds which then give rise to these showers, details Météo France.
These are brief showers in which different types of precipitation (rain, hail, sleet, snow, sleet) mix. Showers which are often accompanied by wind, during which hailstones, snowflakes, ice pellets or even slush mingle with the rain. When they occur, there is usually a sudden cooling.
This Friday, May 15, 2026, the arrival of air at -28/-29°C over France around 5,500 meters above sea level will constitute a powerful engine of instability. Associated with daytime surface warming, this air will generate frequent showers, locally stormy, with hail or sleet”, anticipates Yann Amice.
Snow returns at low altitude
And there snow it will fall in the mountains sometimes from an altitude of 1300 meters. Only the Mediterranean arc will remain protected, initially, although there is already a very strong wind at the ends of Corsica.
It is this Friday, May 15, 2026 which promises to be the coolest day in the sequence across the country. The snow will then fall in the mountains, sometimes from 1100 meters and the wind, the tramontane, will blow even stronger in the south, anticipates, on news.fr, meteorologist Yann Amice.
The cause is a “surface depression” between Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) and Bordeaux (Gironde) which will strengthen the wind south of Bordeaux, he explains. With strong wind expected in the southwest.
According to the organization Météo France, a lull is expected on Saturday 16th May despite still a few showers along the Channel coast, while on Sunday May 17, a new rainy wave will arrive again through Brittany!
To see temperatures rise, and the sun return, we will have to wait until the following week “and May 19, with a clearer improvement which seems to be taking shape, accompanied by mild weather and drier weather”, predicts Yann Amice.
Enjoyed this? Get the week’s top France stories
One email every Sunday. Unsubscribe anytime.
