Cold spell and gales of up to 100km/h to cover France this weekend
Polar winds will make it feel cooler than below-average temperatures indicate
WInds will cover most areas of France across the four days
Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Gales are set to cover much of France this weekend, as several different wind patterns impact the country. Some winds in the south may reach over 100km/h.
The arrival of a cool Arctic air mass over the north will coincide with chilly winds in the area, starting today (May 13) and slowly spreading south.
By Thursday (May 14), the famous Mistral and Tramontane winds will blow in the south, getting progressively stronger as the weekend continues.
Mistral and Tramontane gales may reach 100 km/h over the weekend when they are at their peak, and winds in the north reach around 80 km/h.
Winds and cool temperatures
The arrival of the winds come at the same time as a general temperature drop, which will see highs across the long Ascension weekend remain around 5C lower than seasonal norms.
Recordings are taken in the shade and without factoring in elements such as winds or sun, and the presence of these conditions can make the real ‘feel’ of a temperature rather different.
In these strong and chilly winds then, it may feel even cooler than temperature forecasts cited.
Currently, no heightened warnings have been issued by state forecaster Météo France, but people should check local weather reports across the weekend. The alert period only covers a maximum of one day in advance. You can check the official website here.
If heightened alerts for strong winds are raised in your department, you should ensure outside furniture is tied down and that cars are not parked directly under trees at risk of being uprooted or branches falling.
Driving and outside activity should be kept to a minimum as trees and objects may fall.
If warnings are issued in coastal departments, avoid going into the water as gales can quickly blow people off course.
Note that on Thursday (the date of the Ascension public holiday) forecasts are currently warning of a combination of gales (between 70km/h - 80km/h) and strong rain/hail.
These conditions are expected across the country, and are set to be most impactful in the north/north-east.
These two combined may lead to storm-like conditions and in turn heightened warnings may be rapidly put in place.
More information on what to do during heightened alerts is available in our article here.
