Announced by Météo-France and named by the IRM, storm Benjamin will hit the Atlantic coast and the English Channel. This will occur on Thursday, October 23, 2025, with gusts reaching up to 130 km/h. Additionally, gusts will reach 150 km/h in Corsica. The first effects are expected Wednesday at noon, with a peak Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Originating from a rapid deepening boosted by a powerful jet stream, it places seven departments on orange alert and will test shores and networks: reinforced wind vigilance. The European storm places seven departments on orange alert.
What we know, what’s coming
In the west, the barometer drops like a stone. A depression born off the British Isles deepens rapidly. Moreover, it receives a name, Benjamin. This name is assigned by the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium as part of the 2025–2026 list. It is not a whim. Models converge: France will face, on Thursday, October 23, 2025, a strong storm in France as Météo-France designates them, with wind gusts in France reaching 120 to 130 km/h on the Atlantic storm on the Atlantic coast, 100 to 110 km/h on the English Channel, and 80 to 100 km/h inland. Corsica, exposed to wind returns, could locally experience gusts reaching 140 km/h. Furthermore, they could even reach 150 km/h on the most exposed capes.
The national institution issues a wind warning and activates orange alert for seven departments: Charente-Maritime, Gironde, Landes, Manche, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Seine-Maritime, Vendée. The tempo is set. Start of the first effects, Wednesday, October 22, 12 p.m. Peak of the episode, Thursday, October 23, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Gradual attenuation overnight, estimated end Friday, October 24, 9 a.m. The sea, meanwhile, does not play a minor role: the risk of waves-submersion is expected to be significant along the Atlantic and English Channel coasts: wind and sea vigilance.
A relief map: where Benjamin will strike
The geography of the episode draws a crescent, from the Northwest to the Southwest. Brittany, Normandy, and Cotentin will see the first serious gusts. The Pays de la Loire will quickly be affected by storms and strong gusts. In the south, the front line extends towards Gironde, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. A lasting gale is expected, with energetic swell. Further east, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales will experience winds accelerated by the effect of relief and corridor. Finally, Corsica is preparing for peaks up to 150 km/h, especially on the tips of Cap Corse. The ridges are also concerned when the depression shifts and reinjects strong dynamics over the Tyrrhenian basin. The lands will not be spared. The forest network of the Southwest, still weakened by waterlogged soils in the valley bottom, fears windthrows. The western plateaus, meanwhile, will experience these chopped gusts that flatten hedges and disrupt the power supply.
Regional observers refine hour by hour. Christophe Ferré from Météo Languedoc predicts powerful gusts affecting the interior from the English Channel and the Atlantic. At Météo-France Languedoc-Roussillon, forecaster Élise Chatrefou highlights the shift of winds at the passage of the cold front and a storm line that could give warnings of severe storms, indicators of turbulence that will not just be background noise.
Under the hood: the jet engine
The mechanics are well known, never trivial. Above the Atlantic, at 9 to 11 km altitude, a vigorous jet stream flows in a ribbon, with peaks close to 280 km/h. At the interface of air masses, this wind river strengthens updrafts and promotes cyclogenesis. Benjamin is an almost textbook product. The depression forms at the left exit of the jet, and altitude divergences draw air from the surface. The pressure then collapses, isobars tighten, and the flow intensifies. Suddenly, the pressure gradient converts energy into broad and lasting gusts. Météo-France reminds in its educational files: when the jet stream accelerates and undulates, it holds the key to the sharpest gales.
Predict Services, a risk engineering company led by Alix Roumagnac, has been observing for several days a succession of depressions rising from the nearby Atlantic towards the British Isles. This pace has set the stage. The seas have widened, surges accumulate, the swell feeds over a long distance. "A succession of gales is as much energy injected into the machine," explains a field engineer. The storm of the day never arrives on a blank page.
Official signals: vigilance and instructions
On the national map, the colors are not decorative. The orange alert implies that everyone anticipates. Prefects activate operational cells, while coastal municipalities review their soft evacuation plans. Additionally, electricity and transport networks switch to degraded mode. Météo-France publishes regular bulletins, accessible to the general public, detailing risks by department and phenomenon, violent wind, rain-flooding, waves-submersion. These bulletins, updated several times a day, dictate the right measure: neither unnecessary alarm nor culpable negligence.
The timeline is tight. The first serious gust is expected as early as Wednesday, October 22 at noon, with a marked crescendo overnight. Thursday, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., the bar will pass over all maritime fronts, with gusts 120 to 130 km/h on the Vendée and Charente capes, 100 to 110 km/h from Finistère to Bessin. Inland, peaks at 80, 90, sometimes 100 km/h will be enough to break branches and uproot fragile subjects. Friday, from 9 a.m., the main part will be over, even if residual squalls will still sweep the coasts.
Prevention rather than cure: the home, the road, the shore
Prevention starts with simple gestures. At home, bring in anything that can become a projectile. Check the fastening of shutters. Keep vehicles away from trees and cracked walls. Prepare a flashlight, batteries, water. On the road, avoid coastal routes at peak times and reduce speed. Additionally, differentiate the routes of heavy goods vehicles and light vehicles, more sensitive to transverse "blows". On the shore, stay away from dikes and esplanades at the height of the swell remains the rule that saves. A spectacular photograph is never worth a life.
Maritime authorities insist on a subtlety drowned by habit. The danger of waves-submersion does not only come from wave height, but from the coincidence between tide, surge, and wind. When these factors combine, the water rises a notch, the foam crosses, urban furniture becomes a floating obstacle. The seaside resorts of Vendée, Charente-Maritime, or Pays Bigouden know enough. Therefore, they no longer treat the sea as a backdrop. The dikes have memory, and memory speaks loudly on stormy days.
Public service: what can move, what can stop
A country holds together through a thousand invisible routines. The wind alert makes them visible. Communities prepare for temporary school closures. Notably, this concerns exposed coastal municipalities. Thus, they avoid perilous journeys at peak hours. Transport operators anticipate slowdowns on railway lines where falling trees remain a risk. Fast maritime crossings may be suspended when sea conditions exceed operational tolerance. On the power grid, Enedis deploys teams capable of intervening as soon as the wind drops below safety thresholds. The firefighters stand ready for securing, tarping, and clearing axes.
In the countryside, the agricultural calendar suffers setbacks. Late harvests of corn and kiwis in the Southwest will have to deal with rain and wind. Otherwise, they risk losses. Oyster farmers, from the Arcachon basin to the Baie de Bourgneuf, monitor the pockets and tables. Fishermen stay ashore and count the days at the weather window. Indeed, the storm swell imposes its laws beyond the simple gale.
The word and the thing: "weather bomb"
The term emerges every autumn, often misunderstood. We talk about a weather bomb when the pressure at the center of a depression drops by at least 24 hPa. This must occur within twenty-four hours at our latitudes. The expression is spectacular, the reality is a matter of dynamics. Benjamin presents a rapid cyclogenesis, fueled by a powerful jet, but this label only has retrospective value, once the pressure is actually measured. Bulletins therefore emphasize what is known for sure: the strength of the wind, the direction, the time window, and the state of the sea. Semantics protect no one. Instructions do.
Yann Amice, meteorologist, reminds in the local press columns that a storm is not just a peak gust or a colored map. It is read in the duration of exposure, the coherence of wind fields, and the interaction with the sea. These three parameters often explain why one coastline withstands without apparent damage. Conversely, another coastline, though less windy, suffers damage.
Insure, document, rebuild
Storms also write files. For insurances, the "storm" guarantee covers damage related to wind and projected objects. It also covers subsequent infiltrations. The reflex that changes everything is summed up in three words: gather evidence. Dated photos before and after, emergency repair invoices, brief testimonies, file number at the top. It is recommended to declare within five working days, even if it means completing later. Town halls can, if the damage proves massive, request recognition of natural disaster for associated phenomena. Again, anticipation saves hours.
Once the alert is lifted, it is also necessary to sort through the flow of images. Social networks are full of striking scenes, often out of context. Editorial offices and authorities multiply geographical and temporal verifications. A Breton quay from 2013 can dress a 2025 story without any detail betraying it at first glance. Doubt is only lifted with patient geolocation and confrontation with official data. The spectacular is only valuable if it is true.
Memory of winds, present of climate
The French autumn knows these regular pulses that shape our landmarks. Each season adds a layer, and one might think of a routine. That would be a mistake. The climatic trend in Western Europe offers contexts increasingly conducive to extremes. A warmer ocean fuels more vigorous depressions. Soils weakened by periods of drought followed by concentrated rains give way more easily. Cities, their urban forests, their mobilities, learn to integrate this background noise. This is not called fatalism. This is called adaptation.
In the immediate term, the best language remains that of sobriety. We close the shutters, move away from the dikes, and delay a trip. We follow the Météo-France bulletins, which centralize warnings and offer simple and effective advice. We keep an eye on the tides and lend the other to the rumble of the open sea. A storm is not a spectacle; it is a collective event. Benjamin will pass. The memory, however, will remain and remind us when the next gust of wind returns. It is up to each of us to hear what the wind says about reality.