French weekend weather forecast February 28 - March 1: Showers but calm
Temperatures will drop but remain above average for the season
Sunny and spring-like conditions are expected across most of France except on Saturday afternoon. Archive photo shows Fontainebleau palace in the spring sunshine
Mistervlad/Shutterstock
A rainy start is forecast for the weekend - but it will not be enough to reignite the recent widespread flood warnings. Sunday will be calm.
Temperatures will remain above average, although lower than midweek when hundreds of seasonal heat records were broken.
Friday February 27
Calm conditions will continue to dominate in the south, centre, and north-east of France, with sunshine forecast.
Rainclouds will move in from the English Channel in the afternoon, covering the north-west, north and parts of the Atlantic coast.
This rainfall is not expected to be heavy, and will not increase flood warnings in areas that have already seen river flooding in recent weeks.
Note however that the Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, and Charente-Maritime continue to retain tier-three orange alerts for river flooding, as they have for several days.
Highs of 20C or more are forecast in the south-west, and around 17C - 20C across most of central and eastern France.
Some areas, such as Vichy, may see temperatures closer to 25C briefly in the afternoon.
Areas affected by incoming rain will see slightly lower temperatures across the day, with highs of 13C - 15C.
Saturday February 28
The Azores high pressure system that has covered France for most of the week will move onwards into Italy, with Friday’s rain moving in to cover much of central France.
It will have weakened overnight, bringing only showers, although thick grey clouds will hang heavy in the sky for most of the day, with only the east and Brittany seeing any real sunshine.
Temperatures will drop, with highs of 11C to 15C.
Sunday March 1
Rain will disperse overnight, with Sunday forecast to be once again calm.
The south and south-west will be particularly sunny, with highs of 20C possible around Biarritz.
Some cloud coverage in the north is possible but it is unlikely to settle for long.
Highs of 12C - 16C remain above average for the season, a fact that can be hard to remember as France has experienced above average temperatures for the last 40+ days.
Early forecasts for next week show calm conditions continuing, with little rainfall forecast and plenty of sunshine.
