Updated: Tennis ball-size hail batters western and central France as more storms loom

Update, Thursday July 16, 16:00: Météo-France has expanded orange storm warnings to 30 departments, with nine new departments added. The new alerts cover Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Haute-Loire, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, where the warning comes into force from 22:00 on Thursday.

Locally severe storms are expected, bringing 80-100km/h winds (up to 110-120km/h in places), hail of 2-5cm, intense lightning and heavy downpours. Some areas could see up to 50mm of rain in one to two hours.

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A second round of storms are set to batter France today, July 16. It comes after major storms swept through France yesterday, with tennis-ball-sized hailstones, more than 5cm in diameter, and powerful gales causing widespread damage to homes and cars.

Several homes and campsites had to be evacuated in Sarthe (Pays de la Loire) due to the force of the deluge.

In its 16:00 update state forecaster Météo France placed 30 departments on a heightened tier-three storm warnings and 31 departments facing heightened alerts for heatwave conditions.

Some departments have both alerts in place, and several warnings now extend into Friday (July 17).

Storms will continue to blow from western France to the eastern borders today, joined by a new bout of stormy weather moving from the south-west and Pyrénées up to the German border.

It means both the Atlantic coast and inland south-west will face storms, although these are not currently expected to be as powerful as in the east (currently, heightened storm alerts only start in the Puy-de-Dôme, Indre and Loire departments).

Gales of 80km/h - 100 km/h are expected, increasing to 110km/h - 120km/h in departments facing heightened alerts. Significant hailstorms are also forecast in the east. Similar to yesterday’s storms, hail could reach more than 5cm in diameter.

Forecasters warn that exact locations of peak storm activity are hard to predict due to the atmospheric conditions behind the storms, and localised and extremely intense storms are likely. 

Additional weather alerts may be raised throughout the day as the storms progress, with their exact passage unclear. People are therefore urged to keep up to date with warnings through the Météo France website or local media reports.

Temperatures in the north of France will continue to drop, as the storms bring a rush of cool air across the country and the current heatwave tails off.

Highs of 29C - 32C are forecast across most of France, with only Lyon and the Rhône Valley potentially seeing temperatures above this. 

In coastal Brittany, temperatures will be closer to 23C, around 10C cooler than the rest of the country. 

By Friday, only 16 departments will be facing heightened heatwave warnings, all in the south-east/east of France. 

‘Unimaginable violence’ from hail

Yesterday’s storms may have helped bring relief from the heat, but also caused significant damage across several departments. 

Around 500 homes near Saint-Estèphe (Dordogne) remain without power, after electrical lines were damaged by the storm. Up to 3,500 homes lost power last night.

Powercuts were also recorded in Sarthe, where camping sites and buildings were evacuated because of the storms. Trains were also disrupted for several hours, and the Sablé-sur-Sarthe train station flooded.

Vineyards in western France, particularly in Charente, were also impacted, with hail destroying vines. It comes after vineyards were battered by the recent heatwaves and harvests were already looking precarious.

In Ardèche, up to 56mm of rain fell in a few minutes, alongside giant hailstorms, leading several campsites to be evacuated due to rain.

The hail damaged hundreds of cars and roofs, said mayor of Aubenas Jean-Romain Ribeyre.

“We had hailstones the size of a fist falling from the sky like pétanque balls; it was an impressive sight. The violence of what we experienced was unimaginable, so the priority was really to take shelter,” he said to media outlets after the intense passage.

“It was very brief but incredibly intense, causing damage to hundreds of cars,” he added.

Dijon (Côte-d'Or) also saw hail up to 5cm in diameter during the storms, battering the city.

Videos below show the extent of the storms.

Those with homes located where storms are set to be strongest should ensure they prepare their properties, by tying down outdoor furniture, moving cars from under trees, etc. 

Those who had their properties damaged by storms may need a ‘lightning certificate’ to make an insurance claim – read our article here about how to obtain one.