Storms for many areas of France: weekend weather forecast August 17 - 18

The weather in France will remain unstable this weekend with storms across much of the south and east of the country. 

Temperatures have now dropped significantly since the beginning of the week and all heatwave warnings have been lifted and are not forecast to return in the near future.

Friday August 16 

Rain will appear in coastal Normandy early in the morning, eventually spreading across the north of France, to Nantes, Lille and Paris.

In the south-west, north-east and centre of France, skies will be clear, and temperatures will reach August averages – up to 30C in Strasbourg and Lyon, and 29C in Bordeaux and Toulouse. 

Storms will appear along the Mediterranean coast during the day, particularly around Marseille, before moving eastwards to the area around Nice, Corsica, and the French Alps in the afternoon/evening.

Currently, a handful of departments in the south-east are facing tier-two (yellow) alerts for heavy rain and storms.

Saturday August 17 

Saturday will see the north of France (Normandy and Brittany) experience typical August weather, with mild temperatures and skies which are cloudy but rain free. 

The Mediterranean arc, from Perpignan to Toulon, will see sunny skies and high temperatures, which will spread inland to parts of the Massif Central and Provence.

Temperatures of up to 33C are forecast in these areas.

However, the remaining two-thirds of the country will face rain and stormy weather, set to move in from the south-west in the morning and spread across central and northern/eastern France throughout the day. 

This will lower temperatures in the affected areas to hover around the mid-20s.

Stormy weather in the south-east will remain in place and will be particularly strong around Nice.

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

Sunday August 18 

Storms will remain on Sunday in the east, from the German border down past the Alps to the French Riviera.

They will pick up in intensity bringing more thunder and lightning, although hail and flash flooding from rainfall is currently unlikely.

The rest of the country is forecast to see typical weather, slightly cooler than August averages but with clear skies.

Rainfall will hit the south-west, centre, and north early in the morning, but will dissipate by early afternoon. 

Brittany and Normandy will again remain dry, if cloudy.

The western Mediterranean coastline – from Perpignan to Marseille – is forecast to have sunny skies and warm temperatures, avoiding the storms further to the east

Early forecasts for next week see a sunny start to the week, alongside warm but not hot temperatures, although there is a risk of storms moving across northern France from the British Isles midweek. 

You can keep up to date with all official warnings from state forecaster Météo France on its official website.