High temperatures to ease in most areas of France this week - storms forecast

France begins the first full week of August with storms and intense heat covering much of the country. 

Heatwave alerts remained in place over the weekend despite a drop in temperatures in many areas, and have continued in the east where highs of close to 40C are expected today (Monday). 

Temperatures are set to remain high for several days before dropping at the end of the week, bringing France’s fourth heatwave of the year to a close. 

Monday August 3 

Monday is set to be the warmest day of the week by national average temperature - reaching nearly 5C above typical for the season - and the most disruptive. 

Heatwave alerts remain in place in 20 departments across the east and south-east of the country, where highs of 35C to 39C are possible. 

Central and southern France also see higher than usual temperatures, up to 36C in Paris and Lille and 32C - 34C in the Massif Central – these areas are facing tier-two yellow alerts for heatwave conditions.

The west of the country, however, is benefitting from cooler Atlantic air and temperatures will remain around seasonal averages and are generally unlikely to hit above 30C, with no heatwave alerts in place. 

Storms will blow in from the west and cover France, between the Pyrénées and Massif Central, bringing hail that in some areas is predicted to be up to 5cm in diameter. 

Further north, more sporadic storms and rain are expected but hail is not forecast. 

These storms are set to last into the evening, and in the north-east, potentially overnight. 

In its morning bulletin, state forecaster Météo France placed ten departments in southern France on heightened orange alerts for storm conditions, although this may change as the storms progress.

Residents in areas where storms are expected to hit should prepare by tying down indoor furniture, making sure vehicles are parked away from trees that may be uprooted, and ensuring they have an emergency kit ready in case of power outages.

Read more advice in our article here.

Tuesday August 4 

Tuesday will see both storms and intense heat limited to the east of the country.

Storms will again hit the area, from the German border down to the Riviera, but with less intensity than on Monday. The hot air will make conditions muggy.

The storms are forecast to last much of the day, bringing rain and lightning but with less risk of hail, and should stop by the evening. 

Outside of this area, conditions should be calm. In the north, temperatures will drop to around 31C, with it being cloudy but pleasant north of the Loire.

In the south-west, slight cloud coverage is forecast but it will otherwise be sunny with highs of around 29C.

Wednesday August 5 

Conditions will become largely peaceful by midweek with the threat of storms limited to the Pyrénées foothills.

Elsewhere, sunshine is forecast with only thin wispy clouds. 

Temperatures will drop further, with highs of 27C in the north, 26C around Bordeaux, 30C in the south and east, and only the Rhône Valley set to see temperatures significantly above 30C.

Météo France is yet to issue official alerts for Wednesday, but it is expected that the majority of heatwave alerts will be dropped by this point, save for the south-east, where high night-time temperatures may prolong some warnings. 

Thursday August 6 

Storms will also be limited to the Pyrénées and parts of the south-east and are expected to be weak in nature, with sunshine and wispy clouds elsewhere. 

Temperatures will drop by another 1C or 2C nationally, with only the south-east expected to see the thermometer at 30C or above. 

Friday August 7 

A further drop in temperature is forecast on Friday, leading national average temperatures to drop below seasonal norms for the first time in weeks, although only by around 0.1C. 

Highs of 23C - 25C in the north and around 30C in the south are expected, with slightly cooler mornings and evenings than the rest of the week. 

However, it will be sunny across France, with showers limited to the Brittany coast and Belgian border. 

Early forecasts predict that the weekend and start of next week will continue to be sunny with temperatures slowly rising, but not enough to spark renewed heatwave concerns.