Violent thunderstorms, with hail and very strong gusts of wind, are announced in the south-west of France this Friday, July 7, 2023 by Météo-France.
[Mis à jour le 7 juillet 2023 à 16h03] Temperatures rise, but thunderstorms return. After a calm and very sunny start to the day, the sky looks cloudy in the Southwest. Severe thunderstorms will affect the region at the end of the afternoon. As a result, ten departments are placed on orange alert by Météo-France: Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne, joined in the middle of the morning by Gironde, Dordogne, Tarn and Haute-Garonne.
At the end of the afternoon, the stormy degradation will arrive through the Basque Country, gradually reaching the interior. First on the South of Aquitaine and the Pyrenees, the stormy wave will quickly reach Occitanie and the North of New Aquitaine. These storms can be violent, sometimes accompanied by intense rain, hail and strong gusts of wind that can exceed 100 km/h in places. They will subside in the first part of the night. In its bulletin, Météo-France specifies that the most violent phenomena are expected in the departments in orange vigilance, more locally in the other departments of the south-west in yellow vigilance very strong thunderstorms are possible.
The thunderstorms expected early Friday evening will be accompanied by heavy rain. 30 to 40 mm in less than an hour are mentioned by Météo-France, which also announces “a risk of heavy hail and large hail”.