Orange weather alerts persist for western France as heat peaks

The orange Météo France alert relating to this week’s high temperatures has been maintained for 19 departments in western France, as the hot spell reaches its peak today (August 12).

The departments currently under an orange alert for heat are: Finistère, Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Deux-Sèvres, Charente-Maritime, Charente, Haute-Vienne, Gironde, Dordogne, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Tarn.

Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse have also been placed under an orange alert for storms today.

There are a further 41 departments under yellow alerts for high temperatures and storms in the south.

You can find out more on the Météo France website.

In Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays-de-la-Loire, maximum temperatures have sat around 38-40C today, while in the north and north east it has been 30-34C.

Tomorrow, the heatwave will persist, with highs of 35-38C, but areas including Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées and Charente-Maritime will be cooled slightly by an ocean breeze, and their orange heat warning should be lifted in the morning.

On Sunday, a stormy weather front will arrive from the west and put an end to the heatwave.

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