No Rain For a Month

France hasn't had much rain since the beginning of the year, and most of France has had no rain at all for a month until yesterday. The soil is at a level of dryness normally only achieved by April after the winter. There was similar weather in 2020, from mid-March to mid-April, at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown, which is more normal. Previously, the longest time without rain in France had been 22 days in 1989. This February will be the driest since records began, in 1959.

The Creuse Valley in early February, drying out.

Last year was a particularly dry year, although September, November and December 2022 had nearly normal rainfall. The winter is crucial to rehydrating the soil and replenishing the reservoirs. This year, not only has there not been enough rain following a drought, but there hasn't been enough snow in the mountains to provide a normal flow in certain rivers.

The Claise River in Le Grand Pressigny in mid-January, looking relatively normal for the season.

The driest winter on record was that of 1988-89, and we have just managed to pass that, but we are still lacking rain and it looks like the winter of 2022-23 will be the 15th driest winter on record. An additional factor is that last year was the longest period since 1947 that month after month (13 consecutive months) were above average temperatures.