Big temperature drop: weather outlook for start of the week in France

Temperatures across most of France dropped sharply over the weekend as storms cleared the heatwave that had stifled large parts of the country for over a week.

With the exception of the Mediterranean coast and the south west, temperatures today are unlikely to break 20C – a stark difference to last week, where highs of over 40C were recorded as far north as Lyon.

Small remnants of the storms remain present in the south east – with five departments this morning (August 28) still facing warnings over stormy conditions.

Rain showers are expected throughout much of the country, however, though they are not expected to be severe.

By tomorrow, only Corsica will be facing any weather alerts as the rest of France returns to average summer temperatures and weather.

Lower than average temperatures on Monday

France will still be facing repercussions from the weekend storm on Monday, mostly due to the lower temperatures expected across most of the country.

Temperatures will be “between 2C and 8C lower than seasonal averages” according to Météo France.

Highs of 20C in Paris and 21C in Biarritz by forecasters are far below the temperatures experienced during last week’s heatwave.

Lyon is expecting to see a temperature of around 19C, over 20C cooler than that which was recorded last week when the Rhône department was placed on a red alert for heatwave conditions.

In the Pyrénées mountain range, peaks are capped with snow only three days after departments were facing heatwave alerts.

Météo France has put some weather warnings in place across the south of the country on Monday, with the Alpes-Maritimes and two Corsican departments still facing tier-two yellow warnings for storms.

Winds of up to 100km/h are expected in Corsica, with a risk of coastal flooding (vagues submission) being given tier-three orange warning in the island's southern department.

Overnight on Sunday, Corsica recorded winds of 135km/h as storms battered the island.

Stormy conditions also brought lightning strikes across the island, captured in the tweet below by a resident:

Heavy rain warnings are also in place in departments along the Spanish and Swiss borders, but at a tier-two yellow level.

You can see the full list of departments facing warnings on the official Météo Francewebsite.

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

Tuesday a return to normal

Whilst some instability will remain on Tuesday – with cloudy weather in the east and high winds on the Atlantic Coast – temperatures will largely return to normal.

Highs of 23C in Paris and Bordeaux, as well as 25C - 27C along the Mediterranean, are only slightly cooler than could be expected for the end of August.

A strong wind in the south known as the mistral will start on Monday and pick up on Tuesday, bringing winds of around 90km/h to some parts of the Occitanie region, however.

Later in the week, early predictions are for sunny skies across most of France, with the exception of some patches of rain along the northern and eastern parts of the country.

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