Exceptional rainfall across the southwest and along the Atlantic coast. Météo-France has recorded significant accumulations over the past 24 hours across the south of Aquitaine, with 97 mm of rain in Villeneuve-de-Marsan, 84 mm in Laruns-Hourat, and 70 mm in Pau. Even more rain further north, with 114 mm of rain in Sauternes in Gironde and 127 mm in Captieux-Retjons in Landes. And even more in Tarn, with 175 mm at the Vintrou dam, 142 mm in Sauveterre, 103 mm in La Bastide-Rouairoux, and 100 mm in Montredon-Labessonnié. A situation that Météo-France describes as wrapping around the low pressure system centered this mid-morning over Lot and Lot-et-Garonne. Precipitation continues from Poitou to Charente-Maritime, and from Médoc and Gironde to southern Aquitaine and a large southern part of Midi-Pyrénées, with sustained activity in the southern Tarn, particularly in the Montagne Noire and the Monts de Lacaune, where hourly totals are still reaching 5 to 10 mm
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an exceptional event
according to Météo-France in the coming hours
It is the duration of the sustained rainfall and its fairly widespread geographic area that make this event an exceptional event. The amounts forecast over 24/48 hours could thus approach 100-year values in some places
, Météo-France specifies in the alert bulletin. The rainy pattern will continue over the next few hours, with the main activity occurring in the southern Gironde region around the Pyrenees and southwest of the Massif Central, with the rain lingering in the latter area. In other departments, the rain will gradually decrease in intensity, although thunderstorms may occur locally on the coasts between the Gironde and the Landes, as well as along the edge of the Massif Central between the middle Garonne valley and the Tarn-et-Garonne. Hourly totals of precipitation could still reach 5 to 10 mm, particularly in the Tarn, where the warning may be extended until the evening. By this evening, rainfall could still reach 10 to 20 mm locally, 25 mm from the southern Gironde to the Pyrenees, and 20 to 40 mm locally, 50 mm in the southern Tarn. The rain will decrease in intensity throughout the night.
And Météo-France explains that over the entire alert period, cumulative rainfall will have reached 140 to 160 mm locally in the south of Gironde and the north of Landes, which represents 1 to 2 months of precipitation in less than 36 hours. Exceptional accumulations that will not have been observed for a century at these sites. In the departments placed on Orange alert, such as the Hautes-Pyrénées, rainfall will frequently reach 50 to 80 mm. And even locally 150 to 200 mm in the Tarn region.
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