Videos: 5cm hail batters Normandy during sudden storms
Greenhouses, roofs and cars damaged as winds reach 91km/h
Hail reached up to 5cm in diameter in parts of Normandy during Wednesday's storms. Inset photo shows some a hailstone that fell in the Manche department
Yuriy_Semak/Shutterstock/MétéoExpress/X
Major storms in the north of France saw hail up to 5cm in diameter hit Normandy amid the sweltering heatwave.
Following several days of significantly higher than average temperatures, powerful storms hit Normandy – particularly the Manche and Calvados departments – on Wednesday (May 27) evening.
Around 600 lightning flashes were recorded, alongside winds of 60km/h. Peaks of 91km/h were recorded in Granville (Manche).
Some seven millimetres of rain fell within a couple of hours in contrast to the 0.4mm seen in nearby Brittany across the same period.
Alongside the rain and lightning were large hailstones, some close to the size of tennis balls.
Falling rapidly at the height of the storm, the hail damaged cars and roofs across several communes.
Videos below show the storms and hail.
Damage to greenhouses
Residents in the departments were taken by surprise following the storm’s quick arrival.
“I was terrified,” said 71-year old Huguette to local media France 3.
“The hail broke the windows of my tomato greenhouse, the glass completely shattered.”
“As horticulturists, we are always worried when there are unpredictable weather events,” said plant shop owner Fanny to the same outlet.
“In five minutes, the entire roof [of my greenhouse] was torn off.”
Alongside damage to the greenhouse, the risk of the heatwave killing off plants just before Mother’s Day – a key celebration in the calendar for horticulturalists – is causing additional stress.
“We can go only three or four days without watering [the plants in the damaged greenhouse]. It is going to be difficult to save any of the plants in full sun, especially in these temperatures,” Fanny said.
Forecasts for this weekend see western Normandy avoid any further storms, as temperatures begin to fall in the region. However, they will still remain well above average until Sunday (May 31).
