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Austen Storm: the "weather bomb" will hit Lille as early as Friday

undefined undefined 23 octobre 2026 undefined 12h00

The Editor

Image d'illustration, non contractuelle, provenant d'Istock

While the weather in Lille has been getting worse over the past few days, it looks like we're not out of the woods yet. Starting this Friday, October 23rd, Storm Austen is set to sweep through the North, and it won't come without consequences. Here's what you need to know.

A year ago, the North was already battered by storm Benjamin, with strong gusts recorded throughout the region. A year later, it's the turn of its sister storm Austen to wreak havoc across a large part of France, sparing no one—not even Lille. The depression, which will first hit the west of the country, is expected to sweep through Hauts-de-France this Friday. The North has been placed on orange alert for violent winds from 12pm to 6pm.

A wind that could blow your hat off

Watch out—tomorrow, we'd recommend wearing weighted shoes in Lille if you need to head outside. Indeed, from the morning onwards, wind gusts will start to pick up before peaking between midday and late afternoon. In the North, Météo-France is forecasting gusts of 90 to 110 km/h inland. In Lille, they should hover around 90 km/h, with peaks potentially reaching close to 100 km/h at the height of the storm. And naturally, the closer you get to the >Opal Coast, things could get pretty windy. Along the coastline, gusts could reach 120 km/h, or even more in the most exposed areas. These powerful winds will also be accompanied by showers that will keep coming throughout the day. The situation is being watched extra closely because many trees still have their leaves at this time of year, which increases wind resistance and raises the risk of branches falling. While the storm should gradually lose intensity on Saturday, conditions will remain unsettled in some places before calmer weather returns on Sunday.

What consequences?

As we mentioned just before, these weather conditions won't be without consequences for residents of the Hauts-de-France region. SNCF has already announced the cancellation of several regional trains on Friday, October 23rd to prevent trains from getting stranded on the tracks during the storm. Services will notably be interrupted on the Amiens–Rouen, Creil–Beauvais, Amiens–Compiègne, and Beauvais–Le Tréport lines.

The Paris North–Beauvais and Paris North–Laon lines will also be interrupted from 10am, while trains on the Saint-Pol star network, connecting notably Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise to Béthune, Arras and Étaples, will no longer run from noon onwards. A gradual resumption is expected Saturday morning and until early afternoon depending on the areas. In Lille, the main rail connections are not all affected by these cancellations for now, but disruptions remain possible. It's best to check your train before heading to Lille-Flandres or Lille-Europe. The Department of Nord also recommends postponing walks in the forests and wooded natural areas, due to the risk of falling branches and trees. Traffic restrictions may also affect certain roads particularly exposed to gusts. As for any possible closures of parks and gardens in Lille, nothing official has been announced yet

announced for now.