Violent storms unleash hail, flash floods across France

• Severe thunderstorms brought hail, flash flooding, and lightning to southern and central France after weeks of extreme heat.
• Heavy rain, strong winds, and fallen trees disrupted transport, including on the A7 motorway.
• Multiple regions were affected as the storm system moved north through the Rhône Valley.
• Forecasters expect hot weather to return, with another heatwave possible later in the week.

Severe thunderstorms swept across large swathes of southern and central France on Saturday, July 25, ending weeks of hot weather with large hailstones, torrential downpours, flash flooding, and frequent lightning strikes.

Moving north from the Mediterranean, the storm system caused widespread disruption across regions stretching from Provence to the Massif Central, with social media users sharing images of streets submerged in floodwaters and roads turned white by accumulation of hail.

Torrential rainfall, large hail 

In Marseille, a brief morning storm dropped hailstones several centimeters in diameter, disrupting local travel and causing a tree to fall onto the A7 motorway between Cavaillon in Vaucluse and Lançon in Bouches-du-Rhône.

State forecaster Météo-France placed both Bouches-du-Rhône and Var on orange storm alert, warning of wind gusts between 80 and 100 km/h and rainfall totals between 50 and 80 mm, with local accumulations reaching 100 mm in under an hour.

As the day progressed, the storm intensified further east, battering Hyères, Toulon, and Fréjus with heavy rain and hail.

Inland areas experienced severe localized deluges. According to La Chaîne Météo:

• Haute-Loire: Chomelix recorded nearly 80 mm of rainfall in one hour, while Félines received 71 mm within the same timeframe.
• Gard: More than 50 mm of rain fell around Aigues-Mortes during the early afternoon.
• Puy-de-Dôme: Rapidly rising water flooded roads across several localities.
• Rhône Valley: Thunderstorms swept across Hérault, Vaucluse, and Ardèche before continuing their northward track.

Heat forecast to build again 

As the storm system shifts southeast toward Sardinia, sunshine is expected to return to the Mediterranean region on Sunday, though isolated showers may linger over the Pyrenees and Alps.

Further north, a weather front arriving from the British Isles will bring cloud cover and patchy rain before clearer conditions return.

Temperatures are projected to align with seasonal averages through Monday.

However, another period of high temperatures is forecast to begin building on Tuesday, potentially triggering France's fourth heatwave of the summer season later in the week.