Storms to hit southern France this weekend: winds of up to 100km/h and hail forecast
Heavy rainfall will do little to ease wildfires and drought as temperatures set to rise
Powerful storms bringing hail and winds of up to 100km/h are set to batter southern France this weekend, particularly the south-east.
Beginning Friday evening in the Pyrénées, they will sweep north and east overnight, before reaching the Alps and central France by Saturday.
The arrival of cooler high-altitude winds will clash with hot air already covering the south, leading to the storms.
While rain and lightning is expected from Lyon to Bordeaux and in all areas south, the south-east will see the worst of the weather on Saturday afternoon.
Here there is a high risk of hail, alongside the most powerful winds of 80km/h - 100km/h.
Some communes may see up to 60mm of rain fall within the day after several weeks of drought-like conditions.
Storms are set to be brief but intense, although the stormy period will last for much of the day as clouds move across France.
⛈️Ce samedi, la masse d'air deviendra plus instable, avec des #orages parfois violents. Le Languedoc, la Provence et la région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes sont les régions les plus concernées par ce risque. Fortes #pluies, #grêle et #vent violent sont attendues sous ces orages. pic.twitter.com/MR9n0zOrfu
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) July 22, 2026
The storms will last well into the evening along the Rhône Valley before petering out overnight and leading to a calm Sunday.
State forecaster Météo France is yet to issue warnings (alerts are only given one day in advance, so will not be available until Friday morning).
Those in regions set to be impacted should therefore check on Friday, either via the forecaster's website or local weather channels.
Is this good news for drought and high temperatures?
The arrival of rainfall to areas of France beset by both a historic drought and ravaged by wildfires may sound like it is heralding relief, but this is far from the full picture.
While a dousing of rain will help reduce the risk of forest fires, other conditions – including consistently warm temperatures in the south – mean this will have little long-term impact.
Forecaster La Chaîne Météo (owned by Le Figaro) predicts that temperatures could reach 40C again in the Garonne valley this Friday, and reach between 36C - 39C across much of the south.
Temperatures will fall across the weekend due to the arrival of the storms but a renewed increase in temperatures is expected next week across France, possibly leading to a new heatwave. This means that any relief from the storms will be minimal.
Notre indicateur thermique national met en évidence l'arrivée d'une nouvelle vague de chaleur la semaine prochaine avec un indicateur dépassant pendant plus de 3 jours 23,4°C avec au moins une journée au-dessus de 25,3°C. pic.twitter.com/tjcklhz42B
— La Chaîne Météo (@lachainemeteo) July 22, 2026
Despite the forecast heavy rain, the downpours are expected to be highly localised making it unlikely that the rainwater will significantly replenish aquifers, reservoirs, or river basins – all of which are running low.
Even where heavy rain falls, weeks of dry weather have left the ground so parched that it cannot absorb the water efficiently, increasing the risk of localised flooding.
