Coastal Spain and Northern France are reeling from severe weather conditions Monday as Storm Herminia whips up massive waves and torrential rain triggers flood warnings, Bloomberg reports.
The extreme weather, following closely on the heels of Storm Éowyn, has brought travel disruptions, school closures, and a surge in renewable energy production.
In northwestern Spain, the coastline is on red alert as towering 12-meter (39-foot) waves crash ashore, posing a significant risk to coastal communities and infrastructure. Meanwhile, across the border in France, the department of Ile-et-Vilaine is under a red flood warning due to heavy rainfall.
The Atlantic coast of Brittany is bracing for powerful wind gusts of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, according to Meteo France. The severity of the storm has already forced the closure of the critical road linking Rennes and Brest, and schools have been shut down in Saffré, a town in the Loire-Atlantique department.
The intense winds, however, have had a positive side effect, propelling France’s wind generation to a record-breaking level of almost 20 gigawatts on Sunday evening. This remarkable output, equivalent to the power generated by about 20 nuclear reactors, flooded the power grid, causing prices to plummet to below zero on the Epex Spot SE exchange early Monday.
This latest bout of severe weather follows hot on the heels of Storm Éowyn, which battered Ireland and the UK with hurricane-force winds at the end of last week. Scientists are warning that while climate change might lead to fewer overall winter storms in northwestern Europe, the strongest storms, like Éowyn, could become even more intense.
The impact of the stormy conditions is widespread. Southern England and Wales are also under yellow wind and rain alerts, facing their own share of disruption. To the south, Meteo France has issued avalanche warnings for the southern Alps, with risks posed to mountain roads and other infrastructure. The region is expecting over a meter of snow this week, promising a bounty for French and Italian ski resorts around Mont Blanc, but also adding to the potential for hazards.
