Freak storm buries town in eastern France under 60cm of hail

It looked like winter had returned to eastern France after a dramatic storm has buried one town under 60cms of hail and forced homeowners to dig out their snowshovels to clear the streets.

Firefighters were called out more than 100 times after some 60cm of hail fell suddenly on the Vosges’ town of Plombières-les-Bains, while just 40 minutes travel away in Bruyères, 10mm of rain was recorded in six minutes, such was the ferocity of the storm.

Tiles were blown away, cellars flooded and trees were uprooted on to power lines, leaving many homes without power, while tractors helped in the clean-up after the storm had passed.

No injuries have been reported.

Traffic was forced to a near standstill on the RN57 near Plombières as conditions worsened.