French weekly weather forecast June 1 - June 5: rain and storms as temperatures drop

Memories of May’s historic heatwave will be swept away this week with all regions in France set to see temperatures drop. 

Showers will impact almost all areas at least once, with eastern and central departments also facing storms midweek. 

Monday June 1 

Monday will see conditions that most resemble last week’s heatwave, with temperatures remaining above average and plenty of sunshine in the east.

Despite clouds in western areas – including thick grey ones across much of the south-west - rain will only fall in coastal Brittany, and elsewhere will remain dry.

Highs of 24C - 25C are forecast in the north (save from Brittany, where it will remain around 20C) rising to 26C in central areas.

In the south, this rises to 26C - 30C, potentially even higher along the western Mediterranean.

Tuesday June 2 

A dramatic shift in weather will occur on Tuesday, as rain sweeps in across the country. 

Rain will begin moving in overnight from the Atlantic coast, potentially bringing storms to the Loire Valley. By morning rain will cover most of the country. 

Moving eastwards, the risk of storms becomes pronounced in several central departments, as well as around the German border, Alps, Rhône Valley and Riviera. 

Indeed, state forecaster Météo France has placed all departments except from the south-west (the Atlantic coast to Ariège/Tarn), Corsica, and FInistère on a tier-two yellow alert for storms. 

The unpredictable nature of the weather pattern means they may hit other areas too throughout the day. 

As of Monday morning however, no heightened (above yellow) warnings are in place, meaning residents and visitors can go about their day as normal – they should however keep up to date with weather information to see if conditions are set to become more severe. 

You can keep informed via local reports or the Météo France website. 

Temperatures will drop by between 5C and 10C alongside the arrival of the rain, with highs of 18C - 20C in the north and south-west, and 20C - 23C in the south. 

Wednesday June 3 

Wednesday sees a return to largely calm conditions, with rain again limited to Brittany and parts of coastal Normandy. 

Thick clouds will cover the north as far inland as Paris, but rain should be limited to coastal areas. 

The further south you head, the sunnier and warmer it becomes, with the south-east seeing almost clear skies.

Temperatures will remain similar, but rise slightly along the Mediterranean where highs of 26C are forecast. 

Temperature recordings are made in the shade and do not account for other influences (sunshine, wind, rain, etc), meaning conditions can be significantly different to what you may expect from a thermometer alone. 

Thursday June 4 

Rain returns to cover most of the country once more. The rain clouds covering Brittany and Normandy on Wednesday will sweep through the rest of the north overnight, as well as bring showers to the rest of the Atlantic coast. 

Thursday itself will see drizzle across most of the country. Although only falling in weak showers, the intermittent but persistent rainfall may cause annoyance for those outside. 

The south-west and Riviera will largely escape the rain, but will be cloudy regardless.

Temperatures will see a further drop, with highs of 18C in the north and 20C in the south (the Mediterranean however will see highs of 24C). 

Friday June 5 

A new bout of rainfall will splice France in two, with the north seeing showers and the south seeing sun. 

However, the Pyrénées and Alps will see their own rain, lasting throughout the day, and the Riviera may see persistent showers. 

Temperatures will drop by 1C or so – it means that on Friday, less than a week after the historic heatwave ended, national average temperatures will fall below seasonal averages once more. 

Early forecasts for the weekend see the rain pushed away to the northern coastline, with the rest of France benefitting from plenty of sun. 

Temperatures will quickly rise, and by Monday will be around 4C higher than usual for the season. 

Note however this will still be cooler than the May heatwave, where the national average temperature was at least 6C above average for several days (and the corresponding seasonal average was lower, as it was for May and not June).