The event is rare enough to be reported. Yes, the rain has returned to Roussillon. In a department threatened by an unprecedented winter drought, the rains of the last 24 hours have been good for vegetation and groundwater.
Météo France was betting on 10 to 15 mm of precipitation for this weekend. The rest of the department expected much more. And finally, it is a more abundant rain than expected that has fallen in recent hours on the dry soil of Roussillon.
Thanks to Saint-Gaudérique perhaps. Thanks above all to a beautiful depression that the P.-O. between Saturday night at 22:00 and Sunday morning. So the Météo France readings this Sunday, March 19, had not reached such levels for a long time. In fact, 36.8mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Perpignan, the highest daily total since September 23, 2022.
Even more exceptional, it rained in a few hours, that is, as much rain as between January and February 2023 combined… In other words, rain is rare.
To better understand the water situation, between March 18, 2022 and March 17, 2023, Perpignan experienced only 11 days of total rainfall greater than 5mm (25 days normal) for a total volume of 238mm of precipitation during the period. (normal is 578mm, Ed). The deficit is therefore gigantic and it would take two months of uninterrupted rain to recover a normal level of rainfall.
Source: L Independant
