Rain-flood and avalanches: along the Pyrenees and the Alps in orange vigilance

Marlène Duret, with AFP 19h46, December 09, 2021

Météo-France has placed the Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège departments in orange vigilance for rain, flood and avalanche risks and added orange avalanche vigilance for the 5 departments of the Pyrenees, Isère and the two Savoys, from Thursday evening.

According to Météo-France, the precipitation will continue on the Pyrenean rim extending until Saturday morning "The intensities will be moderate, sometimes quite strong next night and Friday morning", according to the press release.

Snow expected from 2,000 meters above sea level

The rains intensified during the night in the south of the departments in vigilance orange rain flooding. The weather will remain very rainy. The rains will accumulate significantly. The snow will fall around 2,000 meters during the day on Friday and will drop to around 1,200 m in the evening. The disturbance will also be accompanied by a clear warmth in the mountains where the rain / snow limit will rise to 2,200-2,300m next night. It will drop to around 1,500m at the end of the night or early morning tomorrow then around 1,200m afterwards.

According to Météo France, the wind is also an aggravating factor since it becomes strong during the night and tomorrow in the mountains, more temporarily in the plains and along the chain.

Northwest gusts can reach 60 to 90 km / h in the plains, up to 100-110 km / h on the coast and 120-130 km / h in the mountains.

These conditions induce a very high risk of an avalanche, reports Météo-France.

A long north-westerly swell is also expected on the Basque coast during the episode which could thwart the flow in the estuaries.