In a bulletin published this Saturday, June 29, Météo-France placed 28 departments on orange alert. Precipitation and electrical activity are expected to be “intense.”
A complicated evening in perspective in the French sky. In a bulletin published this Saturday, June 29 at 12 noon, the Météo-France organization announced that it had placed 28 departments, from the southwest to the northeast, on orange alert for “thunderstorms”. On the menu: hail, violent winds and lightning galore.
From the morning, precipitation of 50 to 80 mm was expected from Landes to Poitou. But the phenomenon risks strengthening as it moves towards the east of the country throughout the day.
In Auvergne (and Occitanie) “violent phenomena” could take place in the afternoon. “In particular, we expect high rainfall intensities of 20 to 30 mm/h, which could give rise, during the episode, to local accumulations exceeding 50 mm,” specifies Météo-France before adding:
“A few small to medium-sized hailstorms are also likely, as well as wind gusts that could locally exceed 80km/h.”
In the Grand-Est, “large hail” announced
The Grand-Est region is expected to experience particularly unsettled weather in the coming hours. Météo-France anticipates that the storms there “will be particularly virulent”, and expects “rainfall accumulations of 50 to 80 mm in a short period of time (and) very strong gusts of wind”.
The expected gusts will vary between 100 and 120 km/h, “or even more very occasionally”, the agency specifies.
But another form of precipitation could cause damage, “large hail” whose diameter could in places “reach or exceed 5 cm” and lead to major damage.
The previous hailstorm, on June 18, destroyed the crops of many farms, particularly in Médoc and Beaujolais, when “pétanque balls” were seen by residents.
“Intense electrical” activity is also expected. According to the Keraunos Observatory, 1,000 flashes have already been observed this Saturday, June 29 before 12 noon.
