French weekly weather forecast August 18 - 22: heatwave ends but storms rush in

The heatwave that has covered parts of France for more than a week is set to come to an end today for most areas with temperatures dropping in the north over the weekend.

Heat alerts continue however along the Mediterranean coast as high overnight temperatures remain, even if daytime temperatures begin to drop.

However, the hot spell is to be quickly followed by storms across much of the country including in the south.

The warm winds responsible for the recent high temperatures are leaving French skies, making space for cooler winds bringing a drop in temperatures but collisions between the two will cause thunderstorms.

Monday August 18 

The final day of the latest heatwave will see highs of around 30C in the north, and up to 35C in the south. 

There will be clouds along the western coast and storms in Brittany – slowly moving eastward into Normandy as the day progresses.

Heatwave (canicule) warnings have been lifted in all but the Mediterranean and Provence areas, as cooler overnight temperatures in the north brought standard conditions back in the north and centre of the country.

Seven departments remain on a heightened orange heatwave alert. The warnings will stay until Tuesday as overnight temperatures still remain high. 

The departments facing warnings are: Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Hérault, Gard, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var.

Tuesday August 19 

Early morning storms will cover an area stretching from the south-west to the German border, as well as the western coast and Brittany. 

These storms will push inland during the day to reach Paris by the afternoon. 

Intense rainfall is not expected across the storm’s path, but skies will be grey and there is a chance of showers both before and after the main passage of the storm. 

Temperatures will drop, albeit slightly – close to 30C in the north and Mediterranean, but below 25C in the south-west. 

Overnight temperatures along the Mediterranean could remain at 25C, slightly prolonging heatwave warnings.

Wednesday August 20 

Daytime temperatures will further fall on Wednesday, hovering between 20C and 22C for all of the country except the south-east where highs may reach 25C. 

Between Saturday (August 16) and Wednesday, temperatures will have dropped by 17C in parts of the south.

Storms will pick up in intensity, particularly in the east and south where hail is possible.

Conditions will last for much of the day although storms will probably reach their most intense in the late afternoon.

Further information about the impact of the storms at the end of the week will be available as the week progresses, with state forecaster Météo France issuing warnings from Tuesday onwards.

Elsewhere, grey skies and drizzle are expected in the north and west, with showers in the south-west. 

Only small parts of the Normandy coastline, Brittany, and the coast around La Rochelle will see both sunshine and dry weather. 

Thursday August 21 

Thunderstorms may continue in the south between the Pyrénées and the Alps but will be less intense than midweek with reduced levels of rainfall. 

Elsewhere, skies will flit between sunny and grey, with accompanying drizzle for the latter. 

Generally, it will be sunnier in the north than the south but the entire country risks some rain. 

Temperatures will remain similar to on Wednesday, rising slightly in the south-west and in sunnier areas, however cooler overnight temperatures will see the national average temperature drop to slightly below normal for mid/late August. 

Friday August 22 

Storms will be limited to the south-east around the Italian border. Aside from light rain along the Belgian border, mostly sunny, calm skies are expected across France. 

However, temperatures will further fall in the evening, getting close to single digit recordings in the north. 

Daytime temperatures will remain largely similar to Wednesday and Thursday, perhaps even rising slightly along the western Mediterranean to back above 30C.

Early forecasts for the weekend predict a calm and typical August weekend, without rain, storms or a new heatwave.