Hail, floods: violent storms in the South-West

Part of the South-West was hit by heavy hail in places. Several departments had been placed on orange alert for storms by Météo France.

Intense storms hit the South-West on Saturday April 27 at the end of the day. Heavy rain and hail affected the region. Eight departments in the area had been placed on orange alert for storms by Météo France (Charente, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne and Lot). Nearly 14,000 lightning strikes were recorded in France on Saturday. The town of Dax was particularly affected. The roads were flooded. The streets were covered with hailstones measuring 1 to 2 centimeters which severely disrupted traffic and caused damage.

Sudden drop in temperatures

Powerful gusts of wind, with peaks approaching 70 km/h, and very heavy rain, between 10 and 20 millimeters were measured in certain areas. Temperatures dropped sharply to the Dax-Seyresse weather station going from 15.4°C at 2 p.m. to 9.6°C at 3 p.m. with wind gusts of up to 66 km/h. Which shows the power of the storm and the amount of precipitation that accompanied it.

Firefighters intervened around twenty times in the area. Several trees were uprooted, falling onto the roadway or houses, according to South West. According to an Enedis report, nearly 10,000 customers were deprived of electricity in the South-West. These outbreaks are located in particular in Dordogne, Corrèze and Tarn.