Hail forecast as major storms rock France: weekend weather outlook June 29 - 30

 UPDATE 16:00 Météo France has placed 25 departments on a tier-three orange alert for stormy weather on Saturday (June 29).

The departments affected are: Landes, Gironde, Charente-Maritime, Charente, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Cher, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, Vosges, Haute Saône, Moselle, Meuthre-et-Moselle, Ardennes, Meuse, Marne, Aube, Yonne, Haute-Marne, Côte-d'Or.

Heavy storms are set to return to France this weekend, covering more than two-thirds of the country and even bringing hail up to 5cm in diameter.

A small storm will hit eastern France on Friday (June 28) afternoon, bringing rain to the Massif Central and Jura mountain ranges, as well as Lyon and parts of the Vosges mountains. 

Elsewhere, Friday will see a continuation of the week’s weather so far, with mostly clear skies.

Temperatures will be slightly cooler than at the start of the week, around 6C lower than at their peak on Wednesday.

In parts of Occitanie and Provence, highs of 35C are forecast. In Corsica, this rises to 37C. 

Atlantic storms make fierce return

Overnight on Friday and early Saturday morning (June 29), a fierce Atlantic storm will arrive in the west, affecting much of the coastline with the exception of Brittany. 

This storm will progress diagonally across France, moving south-west to north-east, reaching its greatest intensity over the centre and east.

Read more: Storms in France: what to do if at home, out walking or in car

It will also bring hail to much of the centre, east, and even parts of the south-west. Weather forecaster La Chaîne Météo, owned by Le Figaro, predicts a nearly 100% chance of hail across all of the east of France, and in parts of the south, around the Languedoc area. 

There are fears that vineyards across the country will be damaged by sustained hailstorms, particularly in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand-Est regions.

Read more: Alerts raised over tradespeople cashing in after French storms in south-west

The storm will lose intensity overnight, however may persist in the Alps throughout Sunday (June 30). 

Elsewhere, stormy weather will give way to lighter rainfall, or a mixture of cloudy and more ‘autumnal’ weather, particularly in northern France, including Normandy and Paris.

The storm will also cut short any semblance of summer temperatures, which will drop by around 10C between Thursday and Sunday, even in areas not directly in the storm’s path. 

Warmer temperatures could return at the beginning of next week, however another bout of rain – potentially bringing stormy weather – is forecast for midweek onwards. 

As of 09:00 today, Météo France has not issued any heightened weather warnings for the weekend. 

However, more than three-quarters of the country is facing tier-two yellow alerts on Saturday for stormy weather or high river levels. 

Read more: What action is advised with different Météo France weather warnings