Heavy Rains Batter Southwest France, Leaving Floods, Tornado‑Like Damage and High Avalanche Risk

Overview

• Météo‑France placed the Landes and Pyrénées‑Atlantiques under orange rain‑flood vigilance from Saturday at 10:00 until around midnight, with intensities of 5–10 mm per hour and totals generally 40–60 mm on saturated soils.
• Coastal wave‑submersion was flagged at yellow level, a factor that can slow drainage and worsen river overflow during the episode.
• Local impacts included overflows on the Adour and Midouze, fallen trees and many road closures in the Landes, with the department reduced to yellow vigilance on Sunday as closures persisted.
• A highly localized, tornado‑like event struck near Mios on Saturday, damaging about 300 homes without reported casualties, as roughly 150 firefighters and a crisis post were deployed.
• Heavy snow and wind pushed the Pyrenees avalanche risk to 4/5 on Sunday across several massifs, and a rockfall in Ariège closed the RN20 between Ax‑les‑Thermes and Andorra, with forecasters signaling further unsettled weather into early February and a possible mid‑week lull in the Southwest.