Red weather alerts continue as Storm Nils sweeps France

A lorry driver has died in south-west France and 850,000 homes are without power as Storm Nils continues to batter France after its arrival last night (February 11).

The driver died after a tree branch fell onto his lorry cabin near Dax (Landes) overnight. Several roads across the south-west have been closed due to fallen trees.

Most of the homes without power are located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine (485,000) and Occitanie (318,000) regions, with grid operator Enedis deploying more than 400 workers to reconnect homes. 

The Dordogne prefecture has advised residents to remain indoors today, and only leave their home if absolutely necessary. Flooding is expected in the department at the end of the day across the department.

Rail services are heavily disrupted, with a number of trains from Paris to the south-west cancelled. Regional (TER) services in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie are also disrupted, particularly from Bordeaux, Pau, Biarritz, Dax, and Bayonne.

In Corsica, a number of ferries and flights have been cancelled alongside public transport as Storm Nils approaches. Gales of up to 160 km/h are possible in coastal areas.

State forecaster Météo France placed five departments on the highest possible tier-four red alert warning in its updated morning bulletin. 

People in affected areas are advised to stay inside as much as possible, and schools have been closed in several areas including across the Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales departments.

Gironde and Dordogne face red level warnings over river flooding related to the Garonne river.

Several other rivers in the south, west, and north-west face heightened alerts over high river levels – you can see where warnings have been raised on the official Vigicrues website.

Aude and the Pyrénés-Orientales face a red-tier warning over high powerful winds until around 15:00, after persistent gales of over 120 km/h along the Mediterranean coast. 

In the east, Savoie faces a red-tier warning for avalanches, with several other mountainous departments nearby facing tier-three orange alerts. 

Several Alpine areas face a 5/5 warning on the separate avalanche risk scale from the state forecaster.

Pistes in the La Plagne area, including at the Chamonix, Flaine and Courchevel resorts are closed today, and activities in other resorts may be affected. Off-piste skiing is heavily advised against in departments facing avalanche alerts. 

The storm will continue to impact the south-west of France throughout the morning, with rain, strong winds and thunderstorms, before moving towards the Mediterranean where Corsica will face the brunt of the impact.

Red alerts for the Gironde and Dordogne over water levels of the Garonne river will continue into Friday (February 13), with tier-three warnings remaining in 27 departments (although alerts are subject to change as the storm progresses). 

Trees uprooted, powerful gales

Storm Nils arrived late in the evening bringing heavy rainfall and gales across the south-west. 

In Biscarrosse (Landes), gales of 162 km/h were recorded.

Trees were uprooted across the south-west, including in Bordeaux and Toulouse, leaving several roads blocked. 

Strong rain in the south-west throughout today may lead to flooding, with riverbanks and soil saturated with water following recent sustained rainfall. 

Residents in the south-west should continue to follow practical advice for stormy weather, including keeping outdoor furniture tied down, parking vehicles away from trees, staying out of cellars, and keeping an emergency pack ready in case of a lengthy power outage. 

Drivers should avoid roads that are already flooded or close to flooding - even if they appear safe to drive on at the time, and particularly roads over rivers where fast currents may quickly sweep over low bridges. They should check local road information as several roads will be closed.

In general, people should only go outside if necessary, and avoid walking on low-lying areas and riverbanks. 

More advice is available in our article here.