Overview
- National precipitation ran uninterrupted from January 14 to February 22, setting a 40-day record since 1959 under Météo-France’s ≥1 mm daily threshold, surpassing the 32-day mark of 2023.
- Two departments remained on red alert Tuesday for major flooding on the Maine near Angers and the Charente at Saintes, with 58 waterways under vigilance across 45 departments and a very slow recession expected.
- Météo-France reports February 2026 as the wettest February since 1959 on national average, and the 2025–26 winter is projected to rank among the ten wettest seasons in the record.
- Soils are saturated and roughly 77% of groundwater levels were rising by mid-February, yet experts say the recharge offers only a one- to one-and-a-half-month delay to drought risk rather than a guarantee of summer relief.
- A succession of Atlantic disturbances and named storms (Goretti, Ingrid, Nils, Pedro) drove the rainfall, with forecasters noting a warmer atmosphere favors heavier downpours; a generally dry spell through Thursday could be followed by a new system potentially bringing rain to western regions late week.