French national weather service, Météo France, placed seven French départements in the south-west on the second-highest weather warning – the orange alert – for heavy storms and possible flooding in their Friday afternoon bulletin.

Anyone living and working in départements under an orange weather warning is urged to be “very vigilant”. 

“Dangerous phenomena are expected. Keep informed of developments and follow the safety advice issued by public authorities,” Météo-France says.

With flash flooding a risk residents are advised to stay away from the edge of rivers and bridges and keep an eye on rising water levels. They are also advised to avoid travel and not to go down into underground basements if there is flooding. You can read the full safety advice during incidents of flooding here.

READ MORE: What do France’s weather warnings actually mean?

As for the départements concerned with Friday’s heavy storms alert, they include: Hautes-Pyrénées, Dordogne, Corrèze, Haute-Vienne, Creuse and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

The Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are also on the alert for possible flooding, especially around riverbeds. 

@VigiMeteofrance 06 septembre

Pour vendredi 06 septembre 2024 :
🔶 7 départements en Vigilance orange

Pour samedi 07 septembre 2024 :
🔶 7 départements en Vigilance orange

Restez prudents et informés :https://t.co/JGz4rTUvHP pic.twitter.com/vqR59hcisd

— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) September 6, 2024

High volumes of rainfall are expected, with up to 20 to 30 mm falling per hour in some areas. In the départements of Dordogne and toward central France, rainfall could reach 50 to 80 mm locally, even potentially exceeding 100mm, Météo France warned.

Similarly, in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 50 to 80 mm of rainfall are expected, with local areas getting up to 100 to 120 mm in the eastern part of the département.

Certain parts of the Hautes-Pyrénées département could see accumulations up to 130 mm along the Spanish border.

How long will the stormy weather last?

Météo France has forecast that the south-west will continue to see heavy rainfall into Saturday afternoon, with the same départements remaining under the orange warning until at least 3pm. 

In Pyrénées-Atlantique, the rains may end a bit sooner, continuing into late Friday night, while Dordogne and central-western France may continue seeing heavy rain until mid-afternoon on Saturday.

The storms are expected to move north-east, bringing along occasional bouts of intense rain, accompanied by gusts of wind and occasionally hail. 

Météo France wrote that they do not expect changing weather warnings for Saturday, but people are advised to continue checking for updates. You can do so on the Météo France website.