Southern France braces for weekend storms and 140km/h winds
Southern and south-west France are in for a weekend of stormy weather.
A strong south-easterly (Autan) wind, which has battered the Occitanie region of south-west France since the middle of the week, is set to strengthen on Friday and into Saturday.
National weather network Météo France placed the départements of Tarn and Haute-Garonne on the second highest weather warning (orange level) for Saturday. You can keep up with weather warnings on the Météo France website.
Locally, parts of the Tarn and Aveyron départements could see gusts of up to 140km/h this weekend, 20 Minutes reported.
The windy episode is linked to low pressure systems over Spain and in the Mediterranean and – heading into the weekend – a depression that formed over the Atlantic is set to sweep in across the south-western quarter of the country.
Météo France warned that a rainy front with 'Storm Jana' would "approach France's Atlantic coast from Saturday into Sunday and pivot towards the south of France during the day on Sunday."
Approaching south-west France via the Pyrenees, forecasters expect Jana to bring violent winds on the peaks and rains that will turn to heavy snow in the mountains. Gusts are expected to reach 130km/h on the hills and 100km/h on the plains.
At the same time, coastal areas east of the Pyrenees and into the mountains of the Massif Central will be affected by the start of an épisode cévenol, which is expected to cause significant rainfall on Sunday, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms.
Une #tempête de vent d'autan et de sud débutera demain et atteindra son maximum samedi des Pyrénées au massif Central et au Languedoc, accompagnant un épisode cévenol : voici nos dernières prévisions ‼️👇 https://t.co/kb0SZC6Qd8
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) March 5, 2025
Snow may also fall at higher altitudes in the eastern Pyrenees.
What about the rest of the country?
While the south-west of France is due to be battered by rain and wind this weekend, Spring-like conditions will dominate further north. Temperatures are expected to reach as high as 20C in north-eastern areas.
However, the mercury is expected to start to drop again from Tuesday, as cooler north-easterly winds bring the temperatures back down to seasonal norms.
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