Storm Charles Set to Bring Heavy Rain and Strong Gusts to Southern France

Storm Charles Forecast, Digi Mart USA News: After Storm Bruna disrupted the weather at the start of this week, another depression is approaching France. Storm Charles is striking Portugal and Spain on Wednesday, November 11, where red alerts for rain and wind have been issued in some areas.

Gusts of up to 140 km/h and nearly 300 mm of rain over the full episode are forecast.

Storm Charles is then expected to move north toward France, although its impact there should be more moderate. Significant bad weather is nonetheless expected due to very humid and unstable air masses overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

According to La Chaîne Météo, sustained rain is expected to fall from the Cévennes to Languedoc and as far as Provence, which could turn stormy locally. Corsica could also be affected.

Météo-France’s map for November 12 forecasts “heavy rain” in Nice and storms in Montélimar. Within 24 hours, 50 to 100 mm of precipitation is expected, equivalent to three weeks of rainfall.

Winds will also blow with gusts of up to 100 km/h, and the sea is expected to become rough with waves that could reach 4 meters. Residents should monitor weather alerts, as there is a risk of orange vigilance being issued.

The track of Storm Charles is confirmed toward southern Portugal and Spain, and it will re-emerge over the Mediterranean to reach southeastern France on Thursday (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Corsica).

Keraunos, the French observatory for tornadoes and severe storms, said: “On Thursday, a deepening depression forms over southern Spain and moves toward Provence. A rain-and-storm episode is therefore expected across a large southeastern quarter, with rainfall totals locally exceeding 100 mm in 24 hours.”

Météo-France warns that the disturbance linked to Storm Charles will more broadly affect regions south of the Bordeaux-Strasbourg line. The European ECMWF model also shows France split in two this Thursday, November 12.

There is a risk of runoff and local flooding. Combined with wind and swell, there is also a danger of coastal flooding on the most exposed shores.

Storm Charles is expected to exit through Italy on Friday.