Photos: giant hail, floods, a tornado in Normandy as storms hit France

The weekend’s storms - in Gard and Herault on Saturday September 16 and then across the west of France and Normandy on Sunday - led to dramatic scenes but fortunately no deaths.

As of this of morning (September 17), over 600 homes in Dordogne were without electricity and a further 400 were without electricity in the northwest of Mayenne (Pays de la Loire).

It started with a downpour over the Cevennes where 200 mm of rain fell on Mont Aigoual over the course of the day.

This heavy rain turned roads into rivers in some communes, including in Lodève (34) on Saturday:

There were similar scenes in Saint-Martin-de-Londres (34):

Meteo France announced another storm for Sunday evening, and as the vast front gathered over the Atlantic, an arcus cloud appeared off the coast of Aquitaine:

As the front moved inland, a tornado struck in Mayenne in Normandy:

Fortunately, nobody was injured, however one person was reportedly treated for shock.

The storm announced its arrival with hail of up to 5 cms in diameter in Gers:

Lightning lit up the sky over Normandy:

Meteo France has since lifted the orange flood and storm alerts for much of the country - however they remain in place for Ardèche and Drome.

The wave of current stormy weather is not uncommon at this time of year in France, however Meteo France says that the warm weather has exacerbated the situation.

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