Red alert in five southern departments. In its last bulletin at 10:30 pm, Météo France placed three new departments on red alert for “rain-flood”: Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège. The Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques are still on red alert for flood risks (as well as “rain-flood” and orange “avalanche” vigilance for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques).
The Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège are also always on alert orange “floods” and “avalanches”. Three other departments are still on orange alert for flood risks: Gers, Aisne and North. The Pyrénées-Orientales also remain on “avalanche orange” vigilance, as does Andorra.
The pluvio-snow episode intensified on Sunday evening, with moderate activity sometimes quite strong (rainfall intensity between 3 to 7 mm / h), and a rain-snow limit at an altitude of 1000m at the start of the night on the Ariège , and above 2000m in the departments further west, underlines Météo-France. “The precipitation will strengthen in the coming hours and persist overnight with rainfall intensities of 10 mm / h or more”, adds the organization.
The episode should continue until Monday evening with a drop in rainfall intensities then, slower on the east of the chain. It should end on Tuesday morning. In the Pyrenees, “the main risk will be below 2000 to 2200m above sea level where the avalanche activity of wet snow will spread from west to east”, indicates Météo France.
The medium mountain road sectors (above about 1500m) will be affected by numerous slopes, and locally by a very large avalanche in corridors where snow has accumulated on Sunday.
Above 2200 m, avalanche activity will increase with the accumulation of snow and the overload caused by the heavier snow. “Large spontaneous avalanches could occur in the usual corridors and threaten the infrastructures of high mountain resorts”, continues the bulletin.
The prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques calls for limiting travel
According to the Vigicrues monitoring network, a “major flood” in the Gave d’Oloron, classified as red vigilance, is expected from the middle of the night in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and downstream, in the Landes, and should exceed its level. last December.
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, school transport to schools and colleges in the Aspe and Ossau valleys, and to high schools in Pau, Mauléon and Oloron-Sainte-Marie from these areas, will be canceled on Monday, a indicated the prefecture on Sunday evening. This “advises” parents to take their children to school and calls for “limiting” travel “to the strict minimum” in these valleys. Train traffic between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous will be suspended on Monday, added the prefecture.