In the French capital, Paris and Ile-de-France, public transport was disrupted on Tuesday evening due to a “very severe” thunderstorm. In southern France, it was warned that severe thunderstorms there could be accompanied by tornadoes.
According to data from the meteorological service Météo France, more than 40 mm of rain fell in 90 minutes at 7 pm on Tuesday at the measuring station in the Montsouris park in southern Paris. “This is about 70 percent of what normally falls within a month,” a Met Service spokesperson confirmed. Some weather reports mentioned 46 mm per hour in Paris. The Eiffel Tower weather station also recorded wind gusts of up to 104 kilometers per hour.
Just after 6 p.m., at least seven metro stations in the French capital were closed due to torrential rain that fell down the stairs to the sidewalks. This led to disruptions in many metro lines. Rail traffic in the area was also disrupted. By late Tuesday evening, the situation had largely returned to normal.
Photos of the flooded streets were also posted on social media. However, the Paris fire brigade reassured, “except for a few flooded basements, there were no special interventions due to the storm,” apparently late on Tuesday evening.
Orange code in seven sections
Météo France also issued warnings on Tuesday of the possibility of severe thunderstorms elsewhere in the country. Code yellow has been implemented across the country. As of Tuesday evening, code orange was in place in seven departments in southern France: Aveyron, Tarn, Herault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhone, Vaucluse and Var. Severe thunderstorms are expected in the evening and at night, with strong electrical activity, heavy hail, heavy rain, and the possibility of flooding and strong winds. And they warned of the occurrence of tornadoes, water tornadoes or hurricanes. The storm is expected to last until Wednesday evening. Residents were advised not to move, approach waterways or take cover under a tree.
Météo-France reported around 10 p.m. Tuesday night that a “severe storm cell” had arrived in Montpellier, in the province of Hérault, with strong winds and sometimes hail. After midnight, the storm seemed to linger over Montpellier, which had already received 75 milliliters of rain. Then a new thunderstorm wave, accompanied by hail and winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour, moved over southwestern France.
No damage was reported by midnight. Herault’s fire brigade said that despite the heavy rain, there were no floods, but they kept huddling all night. In Gard, I recommend that camp sites evacuate their guests as a precaution. The fire brigade was on alert with additional forces. A revival event scheduled for Wednesday in the Var province, which President Emmanuel Macron was expected to attend, has been postponed due to the possibility of strong winds and eddies. At about 3 a.m. Wednesday evening, Météo France reported that code orange was still in effect in five provinces: Herault, Gard, Boucher-du-Rhone, Var and Vaucluse. In the last section, all that was left to fear were thunderstorms, and in the other section there were also warnings of possible flooding.
