Storm Nils, of "rare strength" according to the French meteorological service, hit the south of France this Thursday, with gusts that exceeded 160 km/h during the night in the Landes and left one dead. Some 850,000 homes were without electricity Thursday morning in the country.
First modification: 02/12/2026 - 09:59
Red alerts were activated for floods in the Garonne, for violent winds in the department of Aude and for avalanches in Savoy, while the storm Nils sweeps the south of France this Thursday, February 12.
Given the "stormy winds" and "significant floods", the meteorological institute also placed around thirty departments on orange alert this Thursday due to this "remarkable" episode.
The French weather service Météo France recorded gusts of 162 km/h in Biscarrosse, 145 km/h in Pau, 136 km/h in Mont-de-Marsan, 125 km/h in Toulouse, 124 km/h in Bordeaux and 120 km/h in Auch overnight.
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A truck driver died in an accident near Dax (Landes) after a falling tree branch related to the passage of the storm.
Some 850,000 homes were without power Thursday morning. The most affected regions are New Aquitaine (485,000 homes) and Occitania (318,000), Enedis specified in its balance sheet at 6:00.
The Vigicrues organization warned of "overflows that could be very important" in the Garonne, in a section between Langon and Agen, at a level "comparable to the flood of January 2022."
In La Réole, in Gironde, municipal services evacuated on Wednesday night about thirty inhabitants of the docks facing the river in the process of overflowing, a dozen of them staying in a high school.
"The storm prevents the correct drainage of the water, so my colleagues and I maintain absolute vigilance because we do not know exactly where it will take us," Mayor Bruno Marty (Place Publique) told AFP, who hopes not to relive the "trauma" of the 2021 floods, when the water level reached about 10 meters.
According to the Météo France bulletin on Thursday morning, 22 departments in total, from Finistère to Hérault via Corrèze, are on orange alert during the day due to the risk of overflowing in sections of rivers.
The red alert for floods in Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne was extended until Friday, the day on which 22 departments will remain on orange alert for the same reason.
"Critical situation"
After a start to 2026 already marked by abundant rains, Storm Nils, a storm accompanied by intense rainfall, advances this Thursday towards the Gulf of Lion and later towards Corsica.
The episode should end on Thursday morning in the southwest, on Thursday night in the Mediterranean regions and even during the night from Thursday to Friday in Corsica, according to Météo France, which called for “prudence”.
“We continue to face a critical situation,” stressed Sébastien Léas, a meteorologist for the public body, who described a “remarkable” episode, comparable to Storm Goretti, which caused significant damage in the northwest of the country at the beginning of January.
As a precaution, schools closed on Thursday in the departments of Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude.
Météo France, which does not rule out also raising the Pyrenees-Orientales to a red alert due to violent winds, described the phenomenon as a "western storm of unusual strength and magnitude."
Eleven departments in total, from the Pyrenees to the two Corsican departments, are on orange alert this Thursday due to wind. Gusts of between 130 and 150 km/h are expected in the Mediterranean, where maritime traffic between Corsica and the mainland was disrupted.
In the railway sector, the SNCF announced the interruption from Wednesday evening of the circulation of some trains, especially on numerous lines in New Aquitaine until Thursday afternoon.
Snow cover "particularly unstable"
With the abundant rains of recent weeks, the soils are saturated with water, making trees and infrastructure more vulnerable to the wind.
In the Massif Central, the departments of Cantal and Corrèze are on orange alert for rain and flooding, after recording dozens of liters of water per square meter on the Millevaches plateau.
In the Alps, Savoie was placed on red alert for avalanches on Thursday, while three other departments (Hautes-Alpes, Isère and Haute-Savoie) remain on orange alert.
According to Météo France, between 20 and 50 cm of snow fell in the mountain ranges above 2,000 meters of altitude and "some large avalanches are feared" due to a "particularly unstable" snow cover.
An orange alert for waves-submersion also affects South Corsica this Thursday and more than 50 departments are on yellow alert in the rest of the country due to the risk of floods, storms, violent winds, floods or avalanches.
Météo France plans to lift the maximum alert levels at 2:00 p.m. in Aude and at 10:00 p.m. in Savoy.
This note is an adaptation of the original text in French
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