"Martin Rowley" wrote in message
...
This development is going to be very difficult to get right looking at
the broad-scale pattern. With the models predicting jet-strength of at
least 180 kn, the potential for gusts 80 to 90 kn are quite credible.
The difficulty is judging the phasing of the low-level baroclinic
disturbance (given the multiple possibilities offered by the models)
with the upper forcing (due to the jet structure - a good way south
atm), and I suspect that even 18 hr or less ahead, things will still be
uncertain. The best anyone can do is to prepare, and check closely with
short-range forecasts as we get nearer - but expect marked fluctuations
in advice as new data comes to hand. No doubt December 1999 will be
uppermost in the minds of MeteoFrance! (And remember, we [UK] only just
missed out on those events.)

Yes, I already e-mailed an "alert" to relatives and friends in our part
of France (Limousin), only to find that they've been alerted already.

Philip Eden