Photos: giant hail, floods, a tornado in Normandy as storms hit France

The weekend’s storms - in Gard and Herault on Saturday September 16 and then across the west of France and Normandy on Sunday - led to dramatic scenes but fortunately no deaths.

As of this of morning (September 17), over 600 homes in Dordogne were without electricity and a further 400 were without electricity in the northwest of Mayenne (Pays de la Loire).

It started with a downpour over the Cevennes where 200 mm of rain fell on Mont Aigoual over the course of the day.

This heavy rain turned roads into rivers in some communes, including in Lodève (34) on Saturday:

️ Oh la la, ça mouille à Lodève !
La Lergue est en mode "je déborde" et la vigilance orange "pluie-inondation" est de la partie. Restez au sec et gardez le sourire ! #Lodève #Intempéries #occitanie #innondation pic.twitter.com/KYV6hsLg6b

— sahira (@Sahirafr) September 16, 2023

There were similar scenes in Saint-Martin-de-Londres (34):

Saint Martin de Londres inondé #herault #inondation pic.twitter.com/BLWnvpBUzL

— arno (@arnobour) September 16, 2023

Meteo France announced another storm for Sunday evening, and as the vast front gathered over the Atlantic, an arcus cloud appeared off the coast of Aquitaine:

L'IMAGE. Un nuage en forme d'arc observé pendant l'orage en Seine-Maritime https://t.co/7BoJNbeINW

— 76actu (@76actu) September 17, 2023

As the front moved inland, a tornado struck in Mayenne in Normandy:

#Orages : des dégâts en France hier et une tornade filmée en Mayenne. Deux départements restent en vigilance orange : la Drôme et l'Ardèche @infofrance2 pic.twitter.com/wInFMUZjfn

— Telematin (@telematin) September 18, 2023

Fortunately, nobody was injured, however one person was reportedly treated for shock.

The storm announced its arrival with hail of up to 5 cms in diameter in Gers:

⚡️De fortes chutes de #grêle ont été observées dans le #Gers il y a quelques dizaines de minutes au passage d'un violent #orage supercellulaire. Certains grêlons ont dépassé les 5cm de diamètre près de Saint-Clar.
Photo : @jeffteuoj via @Meteo_Pyrenees pic.twitter.com/J14BIlUdIK

— Meteo60 (@meteo60) September 17, 2023

Lightning lit up the sky over Normandy:

Orage ce soir dans le sud du Calvados @KarineDurandpro @KeraunosObs @Meteovilles @MeteoExpress @meteofrance @meteociel @AgateMeteo @CalvadosDep @OuestFrance @OuestFrance14 @tendanceouest pic.twitter.com/21r5E3xqx3

— Instantnormand (@instantnormand) September 17, 2023

Meteo France has since lifted the orange flood and storm alerts for much of the country - however they remain in place for Ardèche and Drome.

⚠️ Météo France a placé l'Ardèche et la Drôme en vigilance orange aux orages et aux fortes pluies, valable jusqu'à 16h ce lundi. Plus d'infos au https://t.co/kDb5nLbuLm pic.twitter.com/Zq9sFCTLTw

— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) September 18, 2023

The wave of current stormy weather is not uncommon at this time of year in France, however Meteo France says that the warm weather has exacerbated the situation.

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