A number of departments are facing storm warnings in south west France this weekend as low-pressure air makes its way down the Atlantic coast.
All in all, nine departments are facing tier-two yellow storm warnings on Friday evening, for a storm set to sweep in from the coast at around 20:00.
The departments are: Charente-Maritime Charente, Dordogne, Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées
Overnight, this will rise to 18 departments, all along the western side of France, as far north as the Loir-et-Cher department.
By Saturday morning, the warnings will cease with rain clearing and temperatures beginning to rise rapidly before the beginning of next week.
Alongside this, two departments in the north of France are facing flood warnings from heavy rainfall.
Potential hail storms in south west
Weather forecasters Météo France said for most of today, weather in the south west will be pleasant but that the onset of the storm will begin in the early evening.
“The weather will deteriorate in the south west with thunderstorms breaking out. They may be quite strong [in the south west], where they will be accompanied by hail in places and gusty winds,” it said in its bulletin.
Sporadic showers and thunder claps might be felt across the north of France, as clouds move from the north west of France to the Belgian border. Heavy rainfall in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments is expected until around 14:00 but should cease in the evening.
You can find the latest news on which departments are facing warnings here on the official Météo France website.
Weather predictions for the rest of the weekend – after the storms clear on Monday morning – should see calm weather, with temperatures beginning to rise before a return of exceptionally high temperatures for this time of year next week.
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