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Gales of up to 120km/h are expected to batter the south of France over the coming days, as the area is hit by successive Iberian storms. 

The passage of Storm Martinho – following that of Storm Laurence – has seen several weather warnings put in place. 

The storm (named by the Spanish meteorological authorities) will cross the Mediterranean as opposed to traversing into France through the Pyrénées mountain range, however this movement will bring strong wind patterns to the south.

Currently, heightened tier three ‘orange’ warnings for strong wind are in place for two departments – Tarn and Haute-Garonne – tomorrow (March 20). 

They are currently only set to come into force from 21:00 onwards, with the winds worsening overnight and into Friday.

The number of departments on heightened alert may increase as Storm Martinho progresses, with state forecaster Météo France primed to raise alerts if conditions worsen.

Winds along the Mediterranean coastline are expected to be extremely strong on Friday (March 21) as a result of the storm, which is likely to lead to further warnings being put in place. 

As a reminder, Météo France only issues warnings one day in advance, so warnings for Friday will be available no sooner than Thursday morning. 

Weather forecasters are predicting winds will reach their most powerful on Friday afternoon both inland and along the coast, particularly around Montpellier and Toulouse. 

You can keep up to date with official weather reports via the Météo France .

Alongside these Iberian storms, disturbances from the Atlantic are set to begin moving into France tomorrow onwards, bringing rain to several areas. 

Despite these gales, temperatures in the south-west could reach above 20C in the coming days. 

However winds may mean it will feel significantly cooler than this. 

Read more: Temperatures rise before storms and rain: weekly French weather outlook March 17 - 21