Concerns over the intensity of today’s (July 7) expected storms in the south-west of the country have seen Météo France raise its weather warning level.
Currently, 59 departments are facing tier-two yellow warnings for the storm – set to hit the south-west this afternoon and work its way towards the north of the country.
There are 10 departments, all in the south-west, which have seen warnings rise to the orange tier-three level, the second-highest.
Credit: Météo France
Météo France is also predicting hail across much of the west of the country – including as far north as Alençon in Normandy.
By Saturday (July 8), the storms are expected to move north, with a number of departments in Normandy and Hauts-de-France facing storm warnings.
Warning level updated overnight
Yesterday, advanced warnings over the storm were put in place, with La Chaîne Météo predicting up to 30mm of rain and wind gusts of around 100 km/h.
Updated forecasts from Météo France have seen the 10 departments have their warning level increased to orange as well as see almost two-thirds of the country facing at least some form of weather warning.
The departments currently facing orange-level warnings are:
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Hautes-Pyrénées
Gers
Landes
Lot-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Tarn
Gironde
Dordogne.
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Starting from around 15:00, storms are expected to sweep north and east, with departments as far as Doubs and Haute-Savoie on the Swiss border benign issued with tier-two warnings.
🟠10 départements en #VigilanceOrange#Orages ⛈️ De violents orages, avec grosse grêle et très fortes rafales de vent (jusqu'à 110 km/h), fortes pluies (20 à 30mm en peu de temps), vont concerner le sud-ouest du pays en fin d'après-midi et soirée. ▶️https://t.co/CSYEovTI83pic.twitter.com/5IW91oLeh5
You can see today’s warnings on the official Météo France site here, which will be updated if the predicted severity of the storms changes – the last update was made around 10:00, increasing the number of departments facing orange warnings from six to ten.
Météo France is also reporting that a number of cities and their surrounding areas – including Toulouse, Nantes, Limoges, Tours, Alençon and Bourges – are at risk of hail storms this evening.
