Heatwave, hail and storm alerts for 21 departments in east France

[Update July 20 at 14:35 - The orange storm alert has now been extended to Ain as well.]

There are 21 departments in the east of France on orange heatwave or storm alert, a situation that could last for several more days, Météo-France states.

The scorching weather has arrived from the west of the country, where there were record-breaking temperatures in 63 places and massive wildfires.

Read more: France wildfires rage on: 20,000 hectares burnt, one arrest made

Earlier this week there were 15 western departments on red heatwave alert and yesterday 73 were on orange alert.

Read more: Red weather alerts lifted as heatwave moves eastwards across France

The departments that remain on orange heatwave alert are:

Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse, Gard, Ardèche, Drôme, Hautes-Alpes, Haute-Loire, Isère, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Rhône, Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin.

Many of these are also on yellow alert for storms. Temperatures in the south east could reach close to 40C.

The departments on orange storm alert are:

Moselle, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Vosges, Haute-Saône, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Territoire de Belfort, Doubs and Jura.

Météo-France states:

“On Wednesday, the high temperatures will only affect the south-eastern quarter of the country as well as Alsace, with night-time temperatures still very high.

“This situation is likely to continue for several more days in these regions.

“Regarding storms, they will initially only hit a small area but will then spread to all departments under orange alert. These storms could be violent accompanied by hail and strong electrical activity.”

Météo-France’s temperature forecast for Wednesday, July 20. Credit: Météo-France

You can keep up to date with weather warnings on Météo-France’s warning website here or via its Twitter page here.

Elsewhere, the parks and public gardens in Lille (Nord) are to reopen this morning after being closed last night due to storms.

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