France ends record 40-day streak of consecutive rain but authorities warn of possible flood risks

Authorities urged the public to exercise caution, warning that many affected areas remain under flood risk. The country's national meteorological service says rain is forecast to resume on Thursday evening.

France's record streak of 40 consecutive days of rain ended on Monday, but flooding is not over despite some areas showing signs of improvement, the country's national meteorological service Météo-France announced on Tuesday.The previous record for uninterrupted rain days was set in 2023, when it rained for 32 days straight.This year, the streak lasted from January 14 to February 22, and is the longest streak of rain recorded in the countrysince measurements began in 1959, according to the agency.Météo-France defines a "rainy day" as any 24-hour period in which the average total rainfall in a specific area, or across the country, is equal to or greater than 1 millimeter. On Monday, the total fell to 0.7 mm, thus ending the streak.This accumulation of rainfall is linked to a series of disturbances and recent storms, such as Goretti, Ingrid, Nils and Pedro, along the Atlantic, framed by two anticyclones centred over Africa and northern Europe. Climate change also tends to intensify rainfall."A warmer atmosphere contains more water vapour, which increases the potential for intense rainfall, while also altering its timing," explains Météo-France."Since 1 January, the equivalent of an entire winter's worth of rainfall, or even more, has fallen on the tip of Brittany, a large part of southwestern France, and the Mediterranean coast, with 44 days of rain, compared to 48 for a typical winter."February has already recorded its wettest average across the country since 1959. And the winter of 2025-2026, which is not yet over, will rank among the 10 winters with the highest rainfall since the establishment of the agency.While the skies appear more favourable over several regions at the start of this week, the ground remains deeply saturated.Vigicrues, the national agency responsible for flood monitoring, has warned that the water level will recede "very slowly" even if the weather improves in the coming days and weeks.Two French departments, Charente Maritime and Maine, are still under red alert for flooding, according to the bulletin issued at 10:00 AM on Tuesday by Météo-France.The Ministry for Ecological Transition also indicated in a press release that 58 waterways were under alert across 45 departments. Those included two rivers, the Maine-et-Loire in the Angers area and the Charente in the Saintes area, which are still under red alert, indicating "significant flooding."Authorities reminded the public that even areas with a yellow alert, which is lower in threat, and as of Tuesday morning, 51 rivers were classified as such, the river could still burst its bank in some areas, and thus, advised exercising caution.Despite this, water levels in the western part of the country, which have been experiencing exceptional flooding for over a week, began to slowly recede over the weekend."The downward trend is underway, even if it is not happening at the same rate everywhere," noted the ministry.Météo-France forecasts generally dry weather until Thursday evening, with temperatures "remarkably mild for this time of year".Temperatures are expected to climb to between 15 and 20°C across much of the country, but warned that the respite may be short-lived as more rain is expected to arrive between Thursday evening and Friday morning.