Flood and avalanche warnings in place as storm Hans hits south-east France

Update 15:00: Residents and visitors in certain areas of Savoie are being asked to stay at home to reduce the chance of being impacted by an avalanche. At the Tignes resort, local authorities are asking everyone to be indoors from 20:00 onwards, after a first warning to stay inside until 15:00. 

Heightened weather alerts are in place along the south-east and Alpine areas of France as storm Hans is set to cause disruption today (April 17). 

The two Corsican departments are facing tier-three orange alerts for heavy rain and flash flooding, with Savoie facing a heightened orange alert for avalanches from state forecaster Météo France.

Warnings for strong wind, coastal waves, river flooding, and icy/snow roads are also in place at a lower-tier two yellow level across south-east and east.

Dark clouds bringing heavy rain will move in from the Mediterranean and batter the coast, with departments potentially seeing warning levels increase throughout the day. 

Read more: What to do - and not do - in a red or orange weather alert in France

Those in the affected areas should keep up to date with official warnings on the Météo France website.

Several areas of Corsica have already seen close to 100mm of rain fall in the last 24 hours due to storm Hans, and rain is forecast to continue until late tonight. 

Winds of up to 110km/h will also batter the island today, including in large towns such as Bonifacio.

The Alpes-Maritimes department may see between 150 - 200mm of rain fall this week, as several powerful downpours have been recorded in the area since Tuesday and are set to continue throughout today. 

Both the back-country and areas along the coastline are expected to see heavy rain.

Parts of the Ardèche department, impacted by heavy rainfall and an épisode cévennol at the start of the week, saw similar levels of rainfall. 

Heavy snowfall in Alps

The mountainous departments are on alert for avalanches, but will also likely see fresh snowfall as well as rain. 

Snowfall may begin at altitudes of around 1,200m, but higher up in the mountains is expected to reach ‘remarkable’ levels according to Météo France. 

Up to 200cm of snow is set to accumulate in the Haute-Marienne area, near the Italian border. 

Avalanches could reach mountain infrastructure or mountain refuges, throughout the Alps, said the state forecaster in its bulletin.

Heavy snowfall has so far been recorded in Tignes, with the ski resort posting on social media about the conditions on its social media page.

“Some of these large avalanches could eventually descend to lower altitudes via the usual corridors,” impacting slopes and routes. 

The Savoie department has urged tourists and residents alike to take extreme caution if outside today.