Heavy storms set to sweep across much of France

A mix of powerful storms and a spike in temperatures will see over half of departments in mainland France face heightened tier-three orange weather alerts today (June 25). 

Sweeping in from the south-west in the afternoon and making their way through central France and up to Normandy and the English Channel, storms will cover dozens of departments in quick succession.

They will bring rain, gales of up to 100 km/h, and hail of potentially 5cm in diameter to areas across their path. 

Up to 50 mm of rain may fall within two hours in some areas, and those in the affected departments should prepare. 

Currently, state forecaster Météo France has storm warnings coming into force at 16:00 in the affected departments, lasting until midnight. 

It is recommended to check the official Météo France website throughout the day as warnings may change.

The relatively late arrival of the storms means they will do little to curb high temperatures expected across France today.

Highs of 40C are forecast in some parts of central France, as well as 35C in Paris and 38C in the south-west before storms arrive. 

In the Aude department (southern France), a high of 40.9C was recorded yesterday.

The Rhône and Isère departments remain on a heightened tier-three alert for heatwave (canicule warning), with several departments in central, eastern, and southern France also on a less severe tier-two yellow warning for high temperatures.

Lyon (in the Rhône) , set to be unaffected by storms today, may see highs of 38C.

However, storms are set to clear the air of humidity for tomorrow in departments along its path, leading temperatures to drop potentially 15C in 24 hours in central areas. 

Heatwave warnings are still scheduled for the east on Thursday, including heightened alerts in Rhône and Isère.