Météo-France announces for Thursday August 24 the continuation of a “heat wave episode over a large southern and eastern part of the country”. The 19 departments currently on heatwave red vigilance remain so. These are Ain, Loire, Isère, Lozère, Gard, Vaucluse, Hérault, Aveyron, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Aude, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Loire and Rhône.
In addition, 62 departments are in orange (plus Andorra), south of a diagonal from Vendée to Bas-Rhin. Only 15 departments will be in yellow, mainly in Brittany and in the Grand Est. Some 25 departments will be on orange alert for severe thunderstorms in the north of the country.
From Thursday morning an active stormy episode will sweep from west to east the regions ranging from the interior of the Pays de la Loire to Normandy, Ile-de-France and Hauts-de-France. These storms will be accompanied by hail, heavy rainfall, and gusts of wind that can reach 80 to 100 km / h, very locally more.
“A lasting and intense heat wave has settled over the southern two thirds of the country, confirms Météo-France. It is remarkable, even exceptional, in the Rhône Valley and in the south of the Massif Central, in Occitania and as far east as Aquitaine. »
Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded in France after August 15. The national thermal indicator (daily average of the average air temperature recorded in 30 weather stations representative of the territory) had reached 26.9 degrees.
In the north-west and north of the country, the stormy deterioration that began overnight will be confirmed during the day. The sky will be very cloudy and stormy showers will circulate in the morning. The thunderstorms will be strong at times with hail and violent gusts. In the afternoon and evening, this stormy weather will punctually reach the North-East and new stormy bursts will be expected north of the Loire, in particular in northern Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France.
Minimum temperatures will range from 17 to 21 degrees over the northern half of the country, from 20 to 26 in the south. The maximum will vary between 22 and 28 near the Channel, between 28 and 33 from the Pays de la Loire to Lorraine via the Paris basin, between 34 and 38 from Alsace to the Center, and will be close to 40 degrees in the land on the southern half.
