Météo-France La Réunion has published its operational forecast for the morning of 14 October 2026, and the picture it delivers is one of improving conditions across the island on the eve of the Grand Raid. The state forecaster recorded 4 °C at the Volcan, 10 °C at La Plaine-des-Cafres and 12 °C at Roche-Plate in the Hauts de Saint-Joseph. Those readings frame a cold start giving way to a milder day.
From the first hours of daylight, sunshine was well established over the interior of the island and along the coastline from Le Port to Saint-Pierre. The clouds that had built overnight were slower to release the East coast and the slopes of La Fournaise, but the forecast team expects them to move on. By midday, that cloud cover shifts toward the interior and slides down the western slopes, where forecasters note that “les averses sont rares.” They add: “Le beau temps se maintient l’après-midi sur le Nord et Sud de l’île.”
The wind regime is the element most closely watched by those relying on the forecast for planning purposes. The easterly flow is running a little less fast than the previous day, but the alizés remain strong along the Sud sauvage, with gusts reaching 80 km/h. On the northern side of the island, gusts are not expected to exceed 50 to 60 km/h. Bursts of up to 55 km/h are also forecast for La Fournaise and Le Maïdo. For the day after, the service anticipates maximum temperatures of 26 to 30 degrees along the ocean shore.
Sea conditions form the third pillar of the bulletin. The sea is strong in the south and agitated in the other sectors. An alizé swell of 2 metres to 2.50 metres is breaking on the shores of the Sud sauvage and along the East coast, a detail that matters for anyone operating on or near the water in those zones.
The bulletin, credited to Météo-France La Réunion and F.F, with text by Fabrice Floch, is available in full at https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/reunion/la-reunion-du-soleil-des-passages-nuageux-et-des-rafales-d-alizes-de-80-km-h-le-long-du-sud-sauvage-1747902.html, where readers can consult the forecast map for the afternoon period.
Taken together, the readings and projections describe a day that works in practice for the island’s users. Dry afternoon conditions in the north and south. Moderate temperatures on the coast. A wind field that, while still forceful on the Sud sauvage, has eased slightly compared with the previous day. The residual cloud on the East coast and the Fournaise slopes is the main operational caveat, expected to migrate inland by midday rather than linger.
For runners and support teams preparing for the Grand Raid, the forecast points to clement and agreeable conditions, with no heavy rain expected in the coming days and rather dry conditions, notably at altitude. Temperatures, too, are expected to favour the coureurs. The Zembrocal Trail, the first of five races to set off, starts from Saint-Joseph on Thursday 15 October, with 160 km and 8,460 metres of positive elevation awaiting the relay teams, ahead of the main event running through Sunday 18 October.
Meanwhile, the forecast sits against a broader backdrop of water stress in the region. The drought committee that met on 30 September 2026 reinforced the drought alert level in Saint-Joseph, where the situation of the Rivière Langevin is concerning the authorities, while conditions are improving in Saint-Benoît and Saint-Philippe, allowing restrictions to be lowered there. Against that dry spell, the absence of significant rain in the forecast is consistent with the trend the monitoring services have been tracking. The strong alizés and heavy swell along the southern and eastern shores remain the conditions most likely to require attention on the ground as race week unfolds.