Storms batter south-west France as heatwave eases
Videos: violent storms damage roofs and bring down trees
Hailstones fell during the powerful storms
Yuriy_Semak / Shutterstock / VigipreventionM / X
Powerful storms battered south-west France last night, causing widespread damage but paving the way for the record June heatwave to end across much of France.
Concentrated in the south-west around Haute-Garonne and the Pyrénées foothills, the storms brought hail and intense lightning to the area alongside lashings of rain and winds of up to 100 km/h.
It came after strong storms in northern France were recorded on Saturday (June 27).
Firefighters in the south-west attended hundreds of callouts, including to a house in Cambernard (Haute-Garonne) where a fire on the roof, possibly the result of a lightning strike, had caused parts of the building to collapse.
The Toulouse rugby union team cancelled a victory celebration in the city following their title win on Saturday.
Elsewhere, in Tarbes and Lourdes dozens of people were evacuated or rescued from flooded homes, although no major injuries were recorded.
Several trees were uprooted during the storms.
The photos and videos below show the intensity of the storms and hail.
Storms bring relief and end of heatwave
The storms were caused by cooler Atlantic air colliding with the powerful heat dome in place above France, which was partly responsible for the historic heatwave last week.
This battle ‘punctured’ the heat dome, bringing relief to the south-west by allowing cooler air into the atmosphere. Earlier storms had not had a similar effect meaning the warmer air remained above France.
Similar storms in the north and east also broke the dome, allowing for cooler air to replace stuffy conditions on Saturday.
Temperatures across France will remain above average despite dropping by up to 15C this week.
However, calm and pleasant weather is expected, with highs unlikely to break above 30C in the south-west, centre, and north of France.
In the south-east, heatwave conditions remain in place with temperatures of 35C and above possible along the Mediterranean coast.
Heatwave alerts remain in place in Provence and Corsica until at least Tuesday but possibly until the end of the week.
You can see the full weekly forecast in our article here.
Is another heatwave on the way?
Despite the end of the historic heatwave, the warmer-than-usual conditions across the country are leaving many concerned that a new heatwave is around the corner.
Forecasters have already predicted that the summer months will be hotter than usual, and early suggestions of a third major heatwave in July have been made.
Major warnings were raised last week, but forecasters now say it is only one of several possible scenarios, albeit one that will look increasingly likely if temperatures remain high over the coming days.
This third bout would start around July 6 and last up until July 14, bringing temperatures well above average for the season across all of France.
Highs of 30C in the north and 35C in the south are possible, alongside warmer nights.
Some online forecasts are warning of temperatures reaching above 40C once more in the south-west, potentially up to 45C, however no major meteorologists such as state forecaster Météo France have made such claims.
More information will be available next weekend, with more confident predictions in place.
