Sunny skies and warm temperatures to return to France after storms

The unstable weather affecting France for the past few weeks is set to come to an end, with warm seasonal weather expected to replace recent heavy rains and storms.

Shifting wind patterns will bring changes from the middle of the week onwards, in time for France’s back-to-back public holidays on Wednesday May 8 and Thursday 9.

Read more: 10 days off for just 3 holiday days: Why French workers love May

Rain is still forecast today Monday and Tuesday (May 6 and 7), with storms from both the Atlantic and Mediterranean affecting the west, south-east, and central parts of France.

On the first public holiday of the week (Wednesday May 8 – Victory in Europe day) it will be cold in the morning, particularly in the west where there is a risk of frost. 

However, a warm anticyclone wind from the Azores islands in the Atlantic will emerge in the afternoon, slowly making its way across France as it moves towards the British Isles.

Some patches of rain will remain in the east and far south-east, but elsewhere the wind will push away rainclouds, making skies clear and boosting temperatures. 

The Ascension bank holiday on Thursday will see the good weather continue, with almost all of the country except the Jura and areas around the Rhône seeing clear skies. 

A sunny sky will boost temperatures on Friday and throughout the weekend, with all of the country predicted to see highs of 20C or more.

In the Pyrénées, this could reach 27C on Friday, and in Gironde and other parts of the south-west potentially 28C on Saturday.

Hail and tornadoes in south-west at weekend

The turnaround in weather comes after weeks of colder than average temperatures and heavy storms, with last weekend being no different. 

Read more: Why are temperatures yo-yoing in France?

Storms hit multiple areas of France last weekend, particularly in the south-west where firefighters in the Dordogne called out more than 50 times, with over 500 homes temporarily losing electricity in the area.

Dozens of millimetres of rain fell within a few minutes near Bergerac on Sunday (May 5), causing partial flooding to villages, as hail also fell in the area.

A ‘mini-tornado’ also formed near the village of Mouleydier (Dordogne), with a tree being uprooted and falling on a car. 

Elsewhere, there was heavy rainfall and flooding in other departments, including Indre, Lot-et-Garonne and the Hautes-Pyrénées. 

There are currently 59 departments facing weather warnings, for river and flash flooding, stormy weather, and avalanches, however all of these are only at a tier-two yellow warning. 

Read more: What action is advised with different Météo France weather warnings

You can keep up to date with all alerts via the official Météo France website.