Strong
wind breaks out in Bourg de Visa
Whilst the South West of France enjoys a good climate with temperate
weather we do have the occasional high winds that can wreck havoc especially in
the rural areas. Early in the week my
area, the Midi Pyrenees was on Orange alert warning us of very strong southerly
winds with gusts up to 100 Km/h.
On Monday afternoon the winds got up and I could hear it outside, a whooshing
sound of the heavy gusts which whacked my electricity off and then on again and
caused my computer to crash more than once! The only thing to do when this
happens is to stay indoors and wait until it clears. Venturing out is done with caution as there
are so many rural areas and with that numerous trees. Fallen trees are the main hazard as well as
the old telegraph poles we still have and old power lines. Fortunately by
Wednesday the wind had moved on but not without causing some local damage,
mainly fallen trees and electricity problems.
The wind, known as the Autan, is a regular occurrence at this time of
year in the south west of France, generally affecting the Midi-Pyrenees and
Languedoc regions, but also felt in the Dordogne. The strong wind is
caused by the sea breeze from the Mediterranean and it then accelerates through
the gap between the Pyrenees and the Montagne Noire.
In January
2009 winds of up to 190 km an hour paralysed southwest France. Our region was
on the red alert the highest alert of its kind. Everyone was told to stay in
doors for their own safety. My village was without electricity for 3 days as
power lines came down, trees came down and roves were blown off. The airports at
Bordeaux, Biarritz and Pau were closed and the cost of repairs ran into
millions of Euros.
France is known for its winds with the Mistral being the one that is
known to most people. This wind hails
from Provence and it’s a fierce and cold wind that occurs mainly in the winter and spring
in the gulf of the Mediterranean Sea. The Mistral usually develops as a cold
front moving down across France. The air piles up in the Alps before spilling
over the mountain's top and rushing down into the Rhône valley between the Alps
and Cevenes. It will blow continuously
for days travelling along from Marseille and towards the Riviera. It can cause damage to crops and in Provence
the trees are permanently bent in the direction the wind.
Fortunately,
these winds do not spoil the normal weather pattern of warm and sunny days in
South West France and as I write the sun is shining, the breeze is calm and the
temperature is mild!
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