Storm alert level heightened in south west France
Nine departments placed on tier-three orange warning from Monday evening
Those in the south west will see heavy rain – and perhaps even hail – overnight
Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock
France’s exceptional September heatwave has come to an end – only to be replaced by an intense storm.
After originally being given tier-two yellow warnings for stormy conditions for this Monday (September 11), nine departments saw that raised to a tier-three warning by Météo France at midday.
Four departments will be under heightened alert by 19:00 – Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers and Landes.
At 21:00, five more will follow – Gironde, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Lot.
“Storms will appear from the beginning of the evening, with strong winds and hail” expected, said Météo France in their midday bulletin.
A further 46 departments are facing tier-two yellow warnings for storms across the north and west of France today as a strong Atlantic storm hits the country.
You can see all updates on the official Météo France website here.
As a reminder, in departments facing tier-two weather warnings residents are asked to be cautious when outside, and to keep up with local weather reports.
In tier-three orange conditions, residents should be extremely cautious when going outside.
Storm will end heatwave
The storm will help to lower temperatures as it makes its way east throughout the evening and on Tuesday morning.
There are 24 departments in the centre and east of France still facing a tier-two heatwave warning – including the capital – on Monday, but this will drop to 10 on Tuesday (September 12) morning.
By Tuesday afternoon, all heatwave warnings will end in France, with no further such warnings expected by Météo France for the remainder of 2023.
This temperature drop is in part thanks to the storm sweeping east across the country, as the storm will continue to move towards the German and Swiss border.
On Tuesday, 69 departments are currently under tier-two yellow warnings for stormy weather, cutting diagonally across France from the south west to the north east.
Further stormy weather and showers are expected on Wednesday, particularly in the east, before a return to sunny skies on Thursday.
Temperatures are to hover close to 30C until the weekend but are unlikely to break this barrier.
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