The rainfall streak lasted from January 14 to February 22, beating a previous record of 32 consecutive days of rain in 2023.
“This is the longest streak of consecutive rainy days recorded in France since measurements began in 1959,” stated Météo-France, which defines a “rainy day” as a day with average rainfall totals of 1 millimetre or more across the country. On Monday, total rainfall dropped to 0.7mm.
The accumulation of rainfall has been linked to a series of disturbances and named storms – Goretti, Ingrid, Nils and Pedro – along the Atlantic axis, framed by two anticyclones centered 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,” Météo-France said.
An entire winter’s worth of rain
“Since January 1, the equivalent of an entire winter’s worth of rainfall, or even more, has fallen across the tip of Brittany, a large part of southwestern France and the Mediterranean coast, with 44 days of rain compared to 48 for an entire ‘normal’ winter,” the national forecaster said.
February 2026 has been the wettest February on average across the country since 1959. The winter of 2025-2026 will rank among the 10 wettest winters ever recorded, Météo-France predicts.
Rivers that have been experiencing exceptional flooding on the western coast of the country for over a week began to recede slowly over the weekend. A “downward trend” can be seen even if it is not happening at the same rate everywhere, said the ministry for ecological transition.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
