22 departments in southwest France on orange storm alert

A storm system that is set to sweep across southwest France on Sunday, April 30, has prompted Météo-France to put 22 departments on high alert for hail and strong winds.

The national forecaster has warned that 'significant' hail and winds of more than 100kph are likely when the storm, which has formed in the Bay of Biscay, makes landfall from around 2pm on Sunday.

It said that severe localised thunderstorms may also cause significant damage, as it issued orange weather alerts - its second highest warning level - for Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Gironde, Hérault, Landes, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Deux-Sèvres, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Vienne and Haute-Vienne.

As it passes, the storm is also set to bring persistent rain, which could be heavy in places, and could turn to snow above 1,000m.