Storm Charles arrives in south-east France, up to 150mm of rain to fall

Heavy rain is falling in south-east France as Storm Charles begins to batter the Riviera this morning.

The low-pressure system is moving northwards from the Iberian Peninsula, and has already seen flights cancelled from Nice airport due to intense stormy conditions in Spain and Portugal.

Up to 80mm of rain is forecast along the coastline between Thursday morning and Friday morning (November 12 - 13) alongside stormy conditions. 

Higher-altitude areas may see considerably more, up to 150mm locally in the Cévennes and inland areas of Provence. 

In Cassis (Bouches-du-Rhône), as of early Thursday morning, around 64mm had already fallen since yesterday evening, equal to around 20 days of normal rainfall. At one point, around 16mm fell in one hour. 

Intense winds of up to 100km/h on the Riviera coast are forecast, reaching up to 140km/h on Corsica and waves up to four metres high. 

Conditions will reach their most intense in the afternoon, when rainfall will be heaviest, before moving eastwards in the evening towards Italy. 

Rain should be considerably less intense on Friday, but strong winds from the tail of the storm are expected until the afternoon.

Heightened alerts possible 

Currently, state forecaster Météo-France has only implemented tier-two yellow warnings in the south-east for heavy rain/flash flooding, stormy conditions, coastal flooding, strong winds in Corsica, river flooding in Gard, and further north in the Alps, avalanches. 

In the south-west alerts for strong winds are also in place as gales could reach up to 90km/h along the Tramontane corridor, and up to 100km/h in the Pyrénées. 

Tier-two yellow warnings ask residents in the impacted departments to remain vigilant of weather conditions when going about their day, but do not ask them to take any action in particular. 

In Bouches-du-Rhône, authorities have asked people to stay away from the seafront (both by foot and by vehicle) as well as avoid jetties and sea walls for the duration of the storm. 

However, there is a chance that heightened warnings are implemented by the forecaster as the storm progresses. Residents in the south-east are encouraged to keep up to date with weather information today.

If travelling, people should check whether their plane or train has been affected by the storm, and if driving check that roads along their route are not disrupted.

If heightened alerts are implemented, it is possible that local authorities may limit access to public areas such as parks and beaches.