French weekend weather forecast January 17 - 18: heavy rain in south

France is set for a contrasting weekend of weather. A low-pressure system will bring rain to the south, with heavy downpours expected in the south-east and the Cévennes mountains, while a high-pressure system in the north will bring dry but cooler conditions.

Friday January 16 

Friday will be grey for most, with sunshine mainly contained to the Alps and parts of eastern France. 

Rain from an English Channel storm continues to fall in Brittany, with Finistère on a heightened alert for river flooding from the Odet river. 

Rain is expected in a belt from La Rochelle to Montpellier, as well as in the Massif Central and parts of the Riviera. 

Despite the high amount of cumulative rainfall over the coming weekend, Friday will see the areas hit mostly by light, if persistent, showers. 

Highs of around 10C - 12C will cover the country, rising to 14C in the south-east. 

Saturday January 17 

Heavy rain will begin to fall in the south-east on Saturday morning, starting in the Cévennes valleys and moving south towards the Mediterranean coast.

Snow is expected in the Massif Central from around 1,400m.

As of 08:00 this morning, state forecaster Météo France has yet to issue heightened warnings for heavy rain or potential flooding, though alerts could be raised on Friday or Saturday morning.

People in affected areas are advised to keep up to date with official forecasts and local media alerts.

Rainfall will spread in several directions, reaching Nice and extending as far north as Lyon and as far west as Bordeaux.

However, the further the rain moves from the Cévennes, the lighter it will become, with only showers expected in these cities.

Skies will remain grey across all of France with the exception of Brittany. 

Highs of 8C to 9C in the north and 10C - 12C in the south note the start of a period of falling temperatures. In parts of the east, it could fall to 6C or lower. 

Sunday January 18 

Heavy rain in the south-east will continue on Sunday, affecting an area from Montpellier to Nice and the Cévennes.

Although heightened warnings are not yet in place, they are expected to be issued by Sunday as rainfall accumulates, with close to 200mm forecast in parts of the Massif Central by Sunday night.

The rest of the south will remain calm and grey, but north of the Loire sunny skies will return. 

A chilly morning – with some rural areas seeing temperatures dip below freezing – will give way to highs of 10C–11C across much of the country, although Brittany will reach only around 8C and parts of the east just 3C.

Early forecasts for next week point to a sunny and dry, if still chilly, start for most of France.

Any further rain in the south is expected to be confined to Perpignan and Corsica.