IN PICTURES: Violent hailstorms and 10,000 bolts of lightning hit France
The past 48 hours haven't felt a lot like summer in much of France, with parts of the country hit by freak violent hailstorms, the south west experiencing wind speeds not seen since 1999 and a whopping 10,000 bolts of lightning striking on Wednesday night.
Despite predictions that France is set for a pleasant summer, some parts of the country are still waiting for it to arrive.
Severe thunderstorms broke out on Wednesday night for the second consecutive day, with 10,000 lightning strikes recorded across the country.
Gusts reaching over 137km/h were recorded in Toulouse, beating the city's previous record set in December 1999.
And it led to some dramatic scenes in the southern French city.
@KeraunosObs#Orages - Une rafale à 137 km/h a été relevée à #Toulouse-Francazal, a priori un record de vent pour cette station ! pic.twitter.com/50TlpVK86v
— Dominique De BEVEC (@de_Bevec) June 20, 2019
TOULOUSE ROCADE ? @patlanen31 #toulouse #orage #orages pic.twitter.com/wwloPVamHg
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) June 19, 2019
Rangueil en plein #Orages #toulouse ? Loïc Sutra pour @Meteo_Pyrenees pic.twitter.com/LNEtdvGH0O
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) June 19, 2019
Les eclaiiiiirs ⚡️#orages #bordeaux #eclairs pic.twitter.com/f24GNmltYw
— Morgane ? (@pinkcuicui) June 18, 2019
#orages #Fécamp vers 23h30 #meteo pic.twitter.com/1axPckmF82
— Nénette (@cecebonifacio) June 18, 2019
On top of that, Normandy was hit by a violent storm on Tuesday, which brought with it giant hailstones (see below) measuring a whopping 7cm.
Seuls des orages de type supercellulaire sont en mesure de produire des chutes de grêle d'un tel calibre, comme ce soir en #Normandie. Photo Yasan Yidiz via @NormandieMeteo #orages pic.twitter.com/Zz1J4jwcRz
— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) June 18, 2019
Image impressionnante des grêlons tombés dans l'#Orne durant les #orages hier soir. Plus d'infos sur l'@OrneCombattante ➡ https://t.co/eGDAdhSs5q pic.twitter.com/o2i4dl0OvQ
— Normandie-Actu (@NormandieActu) June 19, 2019
On Tuesday France was hit by a total of 5,349 lightning strikes before midnight, 2,451 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 2,619 in Normandy.
The Orne and Calvados departments of Normandy, as well as Mayenne in the Loire were particularly affected by the storms.
⛈ Les orages qui éclatent en Basse-Normandie donnent des chutes de grêle parfois importantes entre Calvados & Orne ! (via Météo Basse-Normandie) pic.twitter.com/nPB8iYMcL3
— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) June 18, 2019
Conditions are expected to remain stormy on Thursday, in particular in the Pyrenees and the north east, according to Météo France.
But if all this talk of high winds, rain and hail is getting you down, the positive news is that France is expecting a heatwave.
Temperatures are expected to skyrocket from next week, with France's national weather agency Météo France predicting temperatures of 37C in the east.
Although the weather agency warns that the storms are unlikely to disappear completely.
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Despite predictions that France is set for a pleasant summer, some parts of the country are still waiting for it to arrive.
@KeraunosObs#Orages - Une rafale à 137 km/h a été relevée à #Toulouse-Francazal, a priori un record de vent pour cette station ! pic.twitter.com/50TlpVK86v
— Dominique De BEVEC (@de_Bevec) June 20, 2019
TOULOUSE ROCADE ? @patlanen31 #toulouse #orage #orages pic.twitter.com/wwloPVamHg
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) June 19, 2019
Rangueil en plein #Orages #toulouse ? Loïc Sutra pour @Meteo_Pyrenees pic.twitter.com/LNEtdvGH0O
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) June 19, 2019
Les eclaiiiiirs ⚡️#orages #bordeaux #eclairs pic.twitter.com/f24GNmltYw
— Morgane ? (@pinkcuicui) June 18, 2019
#orages #Fécamp vers 23h30 #meteo pic.twitter.com/1axPckmF82
— Nénette (@cecebonifacio) June 18, 2019
On top of that, Normandy was hit by a violent storm on Tuesday, which brought with it giant hailstones (see below) measuring a whopping 7cm.
Seuls des orages de type supercellulaire sont en mesure de produire des chutes de grêle d'un tel calibre, comme ce soir en #Normandie. Photo Yasan Yidiz via @NormandieMeteo #orages pic.twitter.com/Zz1J4jwcRz
— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) June 18, 2019
Image impressionnante des grêlons tombés dans l'#Orne durant les #orages hier soir. Plus d'infos sur l'@OrneCombattante ➡ https://t.co/eGDAdhSs5q pic.twitter.com/o2i4dl0OvQ
— Normandie-Actu (@NormandieActu) June 19, 2019
On Tuesday France was hit by a total of 5,349 lightning strikes before midnight, 2,451 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 2,619 in Normandy.
The Orne and Calvados departments of Normandy, as well as Mayenne in the Loire were particularly affected by the storms.
⛈ Les orages qui éclatent en Basse-Normandie donnent des chutes de grêle parfois importantes entre Calvados & Orne ! (via Météo Basse-Normandie) pic.twitter.com/nPB8iYMcL3
— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) June 18, 2019
Conditions are expected to remain stormy on Thursday, in particular in the Pyrenees and the north east, according to Météo France.
But if all this talk of high winds, rain and hail is getting you down, the positive news is that France is expecting a heatwave.
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