Bordeaux saw as much rain fall in a weekend as in a month-Liberation

This year, the Easter egg hunt was particularly wet in the southwest. Due to depression from the west, downpour of water of an unusual intensity fell on New Aquitaine during the weekend. « Saturday April 19, the cumulative rain exceeded 50 mm to 70 mm locally in the north of the Gironde, the Charente-Maritime, the Charente, and to a lesser extent in Dordogne and Corrèze, explains Simon Mittelberger, climatologist at Météo France. This is remarkable, even new in places. ”

For example, Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Corrèze, recorded 60.8 mm of water in 24 hours, the equivalent of three weeks of rain and an unprecedented daily quantity for a month of April. All months combined, this day was even the rainy fifth since the opening of the city’s weather station in 1987. Clion, in Charente-Maritime, for its part received 52.2 mm, there too a monthly record for this village whose weather station dates from 1957. In total, fifteen municipalities in New Aquitaine have recorded quantities of rains never seen in an April day.

This is also the case of Bordeaux. Saturday, April 19, 47.2 mm of rain was noted at the Bordeaux-Paulin station, a monthly record for this place which harvested meteorological data since 1878. The next day, almost 30 mm were further added. Thus, in two days, the city received as much water as in an ordinary April (74 mm on average).

These endless days of an endless rain are not very common in April but it should become more usual in the future. « This episode is consistent with what is expected in a context of climate change: no more frequent but more intense precipitation, therefore with larger quantities of water », exhibits Simon Mittelberger, recalling that a more atmosphere hot may contain more humidity.

The cumulation recorded in recent days will have at least allowed to keep the humidity of the soils. « In March, the precipitation had been slightly deficit in these areas, these rains are therefore useful for vegetation and they limit the natural drying of the soil at this time of the year, but also with the disadvantages of localized floods », Note Simon Mittelberger.

Four departments (Dordogne, Gironde, Charente and Charente-Maritime) remain in orange vigilance for floods until Wednesday, April 23. In Périgueux (Dordogne), Isle reached a peak at 3.43 meters on the night of Monday April 21 to Tuesday April 22, its highest level since 1993. Ten campsites were evacuated in the area and thirteen departmental roads were still cut Tuesday morning, but no major damage was reported.

Now, floods propagate downstream of Isle and Dronne. « Tomorrow Wednesday, new low to moderate precipitation could slow down the decreases in progress, or even cause new reactions but unusual with current floods », warns the Vigicrues site. The Mussidan (Dordogne), Abzac and Coutras (Gironde) sectors are particularly under surveillance for the next 24 hours.