Will storms continue to batter France into the weekend?

Storm Ciaran is currently battering the north-west of France, causing severe damage in a number of areas.

The storm pummelled the area overnight (October 1 - 2), causing record-breaking winds and leaving several departments facing red weather alerts with people told to stay home.

Read more: Driver killed and 1,300 homes evacuated as storm Ciaran hits France

Read more: SEE: Dramatic scenes as storm Ciaran batters north-west France

The storm is forecast to lessen in severity by midday today (November 2), however it will still affect a number of areas until tomorrow morning.

Friday will still see a number of warnings in place along northern and western coastlines, while a separate Mediterranean storm has caused tier-three orange warnings to be issued in Corsica and the Alpes-Maritimes.

Extensive but mild rainfall will hit almost all of the country for the duration of the weekend and in some places the drizzle could run into next week.

How long will storm Ciaran last?

The worst should be over by midday, however a number of departments are expected to face heightened warnings until this evening as the storm makes its way through the English Channel and continues north.

As of 10:00 on Thursday no departments are facing red alerts (three departments saw these warnings for strong winds progressively lifted throughout the morning).

A number of departments, particularly those on the coast, however face multiple heightened warnings (tier-three orange level) for strong winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding and high waves. In the north and north-west where storm Ciaran hit hardest, tier-two warnings are in place for Friday (November 3).

The effects of the storm will be felt for longer on the Atlantic coastline where some heightened alerts for high waves will remain in the far south-west tomorrow.

In the south-east, tier-three orange warnings are also in place due to a storm set to hit Corsica.

You can keep up to date with the warnings for Thursday and Friday on the official Météo France website – it is likely some warnings will change as the storm progresses and more information is made available tomorrow.

The bad weather has caused authorities to cancel the tsunami alert exercise that was scheduled to take place across nine departments on Friday.

Read more: Nine departments in south of France prepare for practice tsunami alert

Weekend rain across almost entire country

Extended rainfall is forecast to hit almost all of France over the weekend.

Saturday morning will see rain across the north of France, and by the afternoon it will touch everywhere except the area around Perpignan.

The rain will stop in the Mediterranean area by Sunday but will continue in the north for the entire weekend.

A brief reprieve is expected on Monday afternoon, but rain is predicted to continue in the north into next week.

Related articles

VIDEO: Tornado uproots trees in small town in southern France

Storms in France: what to do if at home, out walking or in car