The Rhône, Ain, Jura, Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin départements are under the second highest weather warning on Friday morning, as an active storm system that battered the country overnight shifts eastward.
Graphic: Météo-FranceStorms “could remain severe, sometimes accompanied by hail, [and] strong gusts of wind,” national forecaster Météo-France said in its early morning weather alert update.
It warned of wind speeds up to 100km/h and as much as 30mm of rainfall in an hour.
Graphic: Météo-FranceOnly 19 départements, two in Brittany and the rest in the south-west of the country, were under no heightened weather alert for storms.
The forecaster also warns of potentially “severe storms (...) from the Drôme and Ardèche regions towards the Savoie region”.
Meanwhile, Corsica is experiencing a “marked heat wave”, particularly on its western coast. Temperatures could reach between 35C and 40C, according to Météo-France. The orange heat wave warning, still in effect for both départements of the island, is expected to be lifted Saturday morning.
Graphic: Météo-FranceOn Thursday evening, rain, hail, and wind caused property damage in the Paris region as well as significant disruptions to public transport systems, as trees came down on rail lines and streets became temporarily impassable.
🚨⛈️ De très violents orages se sont développés sous la supercellule au sud de l’Île-de-France, avec de très fortes rafales de vent qui ont secoué le secteur ! De nombreux dégâts sont déjà signalés.
— vigiprevention_meteo (@VigipreventionM) August 27, 2026
💨 -> 142km/h à Chevru (77)
💨 -> 130km/h à Nangis (77)
{🎥: @ MathieuRembry… pic.twitter.com/pLnGz7xLvg
The sudden and intense storm at around 6pm caught many Parisians heading home after work.
Rain, hail, and wind particularly affected the Val-de-Marne département. But despite the numerous fallen trees, sometimes on cars, a spokesperson for emergency services told journalists the situation was ‘not critical’, saying that the most serious reported injury was a broken arm caused by a falling branch.
⛈️⚡ Grêle, fortes pluies et inondations... L'Île-de-France a été touchée par un violent orage ce jeudi 27 août. #franceinfo pic.twitter.com/RbFJMZNPBN
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) August 27, 2026
Severe weather also swept through the Auvergne region in the early afternoon. Electrical activity was intense near Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), while the Doubs, which remains under orange alert on Friday morning, was hard hit around 7pm, with 8cm-diameter hailstones reported in some areas.
“It was apocalyptic,” Jérôme Mesnier, the mayor of Pouligney-Lusans, told ICI Besançon. “It was an avalanche of hailstones with an impressive force on the ground. It’s catastrophic, with roofs devastated and pulverised by the hail.”
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