Floods in the South-West: the red alert is lifted in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Landes – South West

The hour is lull this Saturday morning. The red vigilance for flood risks put in place on Friday in the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques was lifted by Meteo France. These two departments, as well as the Gers and the Hautes-Pyrénées, are now placed in orange vigilance, which should no longer be required beyond 10 hours. The Pyrénées-Atlantiques are also in orange for the rains and the risk of flooding. The precipitation, which will continue in the morning over the Pyrenees, should indeed decrease significantly in intensity.

271mm of rain in Laruns since Thursday

By midday, only 5 to 10 mm of additional precipitation is expected over the entire massif, specifies Météo-France. Between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. this Saturday, we noted between 40 and 60 mm on the entire chain (and 10 to 20 mm on the foothills): 58 mm in Aulus-les-Bains (Ariège), 57 mm in Lescun (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), 46 mm in Argelès-Gazost (Hautes-Pyrénées). And since the episode started on Thursday, up to 271 mm were recorded at Laruns (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), 198 mm in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Hautes-Pyrénées), and 164 mm in Aulus-les-Bains.

The flood orange vigilance is still in progress for the Adour and Gaves basins, according to Vigicrues. A long northwesterly swell is also to be expected on the Basque Coast until mid-afternoon, which could thwart the flow in the estuaries.

The risk of avalanches decreases

The snow showers will also continue over the Pyrenees, but in “a very weakened manner”. Four departments in the South-West are still on orange alert for the risk of avalanches: the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées and Ariège. Three departments of the Alps are also (Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie).

“The increases in the height of the snowpack observed at 5 o’clock this Saturday are from 40 to 80 cm locally at around 1800 m, unevenly distributed by stormy winds in the mountains”, specifies Météo-France in its vigilance bulletin. This Saturday morning, in the Pyrenees, the rain-snow limit is slightly higher, towards 1,300 m. In the afternoon, only light snowfall should persist on the terrain.

“The risk of a very large avalanche starting at altitude decreases, observes Météo-France. However, it is still possible due to heavy snowfall and the continued strong wind at altitude. Above 1800 to 2300 m altitude depending on the massifs (gradient from east to west), a spontaneous start of a dry snow avalanche can lead to wet snow down to low altitude and occasionally threaten a road sector exposed to this risk. “