Météo France orange storm warning in three departments

Three departments are on violent storm alert from Météo France, as rising hot temperatures are expected to give way to thunder and lightning this afternoon.

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Côtes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche, in the west of the country, have been told to expect violent but brief storms from around 15h to 19h.

Storms will arrive as the hot weather - reaching temperatures of up to 35 degrees in these areas - will become more and more humid, giving way to clouds and electric thunderstorms, which are expected to bring strong wind and even hail.

The storms are expected to travel east overnight.

More generally, the humidity is expected to spread across much of the country today, including from the west of the Pyrénées to Nouvelle-Aquitaine, leading to thunder here too, alongside heavy rain and strong wind.

Aquitaine is expected to see the country's highest temperature of the day, reaching up to 38 degrees.

The south Massif central area and the Rhône valley are likely to be the only areas unaffected by storms today, and will continue to see sunshine this morning and into midday, but have been warned that winds could still reach up to 80 km/hour by the evening.