Météo France issues wind warning to five departments

The alert, which began at 6h05 on December 27 and is set to last until 6h00 tomorrow (December 28), covers the departments of Landes (40), the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64), the Hautes-Pyrénées (65), the Haute-Garonne (31) and the Ariège (09).

Winds of between 110-143 km/h across the region were expected until this evening at least.

The alert had previously only affected Landes, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and the Hautes-Pyrénées, but by this morning had spread to the Haute-Garonne and the Ariège.

An orange alert is the second-most severe warning from Météo France, one down from the most-severe red alert.

The official Météo France advice during strong winds is to limit your movements unless 100% necessary, and to watch out for falling trees and objects.

Residents are warned not to do any work on roofs or chimneys during the windy time, and to tidy away or tie down any objects that could be exposed to any gusts.