Météo France added the department of Tarn to the list of four other departments that are on Orange alert due to a high risk of flooding in the region on Friday.

On Thursday morning the country’s weather service Météo France put the departments of l’Ariège, Pyrénées –Atlantique, Haute Garonne and Hautes Pyrénées on "Orange alert"– the second highest level of weather warning.

The alerts are set to came into place officially at midday on Thursday and will remain until at least 1pm on Friday.

“The total amount of rainfall predicted over the next 24 hours is high in the Pyrénées departments and this comes after heavy rainfall earlier this month,” Météo France said.

“There will be showers on Thursday morning, which will see up to 30mm fall in some places and this afternoon the rainfall will grow heavier across the whole region.”

Météo France predicted there would be significant rainfall overnight from Haute-Bigorre  to Piémont Ariégeois, where up to 100mm could fall in some parts over the next 24 hours.

The bad weather continues to provide mixed fortunes in France. As most people curse the rain and the cold temperatures, bosses at one ski station in the Pyrénées were delighted to announced on Wednesday they would be re-opening their doors to take advantage of all the snow that remained on the slopes.

Around 20cm of snow fell in the last two days in areas of the Pyrénées above 2000m.

Forecasters have dismissed predictions earlier this week that France was set for the coldest summer in 200 years, telling The Local, there was still hope the sun could come out in July and August.