Little respite on the weather front. After the violent hailstorms which caused significant material damage on Tuesday in several departments of central-eastern France – in particular in Saône-et-Loire, in Nièvre or in Allier –, and Wednesday evening in the region of Roanne, twenty-six departments were placed, Thursday, June 23, in orange vigilance for risk of storm on a northeast quarter. Météo-France specifies: “Thursday evening, locally violent thunderstorms will continue to affect Tarn, Aveyron, Grand-Est, Burgundy and Franche-Comté and Cher. »
This “strongly stormy” situation requires “particular vigilance given the risk of violent phenomena”, warned Météo-France, which expects locally heavy hailstorms, accumulations of intense precipitation (punctually 30 to 50 mm less an hour) and strong gusts of wind (70 to 100 km/h). Gusts at 103 km / h were thus measured Thursday in Lyon.
Hail damages roofs in the Roanne region
Violent thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by hail but of small size, already affected the South-West earlier on Thursday, with accumulations of rain observed from 40 to 60 mm in less than forty minutes, and the number of departments in orange vigilance was climbed to thirty-seven.
On Friday, “an episode of sometimes violent thunderstorms will begin in the Ardèche in the morning, it will reach the Drôme, Isère and Savoie around midday. These storms may also be accompanied by hail, violent gusts of wind and very heavy rain. In this situation, there is a risk of large hail”, then forecasts Météo-France.
Since Monday already, violent storms accompanied by hail have caused significant material damage in several departments of the Center-East, in particular in Saône-et-Loire, in Nièvre or in Allier, as well as in the South-West, where vineyards have been affected.
The region of Roanne (Loire) was particularly affected on Wednesday evening by hailstorms, which damaged many roofs, firefighters said on Thursday. “Since 5 p.m., we have received 1,400 calls, which generated 466 interventions in Roanne and its outskirts, including 360 in the commune of Coteau alone”, which adjoins Roanne, counted the firefighters of the Loire. “The hailstones were as big as golf balls”, reported the town hall of Le Coteau, underlining “the solidarity between the inhabitants who lent each other tarpaulins” and “the enormous work of the firefighters”. The bad weather caused no casualties, firefighters said.