Hot spell breaks seasonal temperature records in south-west France

Several seasonal temperature records were broken in western and southwestern France yesterday (September 12) as a brief hot spell settled over the country.

Météo France has published a “non-exhaustive” list of the maximum temperatures recorded in towns in the south west and shows that the heat reached its peak at 39.1C in Mont-de-Marsan (Landes).

This broke the previous record for the month of September, which had been set at 37.1C in September 2016.

In all, around 10 communes – mostly in Nouvelle-Aquitaine – saw their September heat records broken. In Dax (Landes), for example, it was 39C, higher than the 38C recorded on September 12, 2016.

In Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), the last heat record had been set on September 7, 1970, when it was 36.3C but yesterday, the city also reached 39C.

Further north, Nantes’ (Loire-Atlantique) heat record was also broken, with temperatures reaching 35.1C, compared to 34.3C in 1961.

This heat has been swiftly followed by storms, and 84 departments covering all but the far south east and Corsica are under yellow weather warnings.

Météo France has warned that the storms will be “potentially violent” on the Massif Central and in Burgundy today, and in the north of Languedoc and around the Rhône Valley tomorrow (September 14).

Forecasters predict that there is a 90% chance that there will be severe storm activity in Gard, Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales.

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