Thunderstorms hit the capital late on Wednesday, May 1. A webcam located in the 16th arrondissement immortalized the Iron Lady struck by lightning.
Above Paris, the sky was unleashed. Thousands of flashes and lightning strikes were detected in Île-de-France this Wednesday, May 1 during violent storms in the north of the country. In the capital, the Eiffel Tower was also struck by lightning, many Internet users noted.
Images of the famous illuminated monument were captured by a webcam placed on the roof of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council at the Palais d’Iéna, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
Five impacts per year on average
Photographer Bertrand Kulik, accustomed to this type of shots, was also able to photograph the Iron Lady at the moment of the lightning strike.
This is not the first time that the Eiffel Tower has been hit. “Since its birth in 1889, the monument has “attracted” lightning during storms: there are on average 5 impacts per year,” we can read on its official website.
In addition to these beautiful images, the storms in the Île-de-France region also caused numerous traffic problems in Roissy and Orly: several flights were diverted.
After touching the Côte-d’Or, the storms moved towards the Yonne, and reached the Paris region around 9 p.m.
This stormy wave, “organized and intense, will sweep the regions from northern Burgundy to Hauts-de-France” until the second part of the night from Wednesday to Thursday, indicates Météo-France in its latest bulletin.
In the 11 departments placed on orange alert until 3 a.m. this Thursday, “storms are expected to be virulent with high intensities of precipitation, fairly large hail, squalls. Electrical activity will also be marked”, warns the ‘agency.
