After the heat associated with the heat wave, the storms and rain will continue Saturday 27th July 2019. Meteo France has placed 22 departments in orange alert.
The much awaited rain has arrived … After several days of extreme heat and record temperatures, the mercury began Friday 26th July 2019 to plummet with thunderstorms and the alert heat wave was gradually lifted by Saturday 27th July on the whole of France.
It was still very hot Friday in the East, especially in the plain of Alsace, where the temperatures reached 36.4 ° C in Colmar, 36.1 in Strasbourg, and even 37.4 in the village of Scheibenhard ( Bas-Rhin), on the German border.
Today, 22 departments are placed in orange alert for thunderstorms
🔶 22 dpts en #vigilanceOrange
Restez informés sur https://t.co/rJ24zzmmy4 pic.twitter.com/UoqWqCJh3C
— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) 27 July 2019
The departments concerned are mainly in the East of France: Ain, Ardèche, Côte-d’Or, Doubs, Drôme, Isère, Jura, Loire, Haute-Marne, Meurthe- and-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Rhone, Haute-Saone, Saone-et-Loire, Savoy, Haute-Savoie, Vosges and Territoire-de -Belfort.
The consequences of storms
Because of these sudden bad weather, the 19th stage of the Tour de France stopped prematurely shortly before Val-d’Isère on Friday. The road became impassable after a shower of hail.
Severe thunderstorms also fell in the late afternoon on the Auvergne as Vichy where lightning and wind blew up the 18 with many damaged buildings and trees on the ground, according to the prefecture of Allier.
Météo-France has raised up to 30 to 50 mm of water in one hour in some places. “In addition to very high rain intensities, these storms are accompanied locally by hail, a strong electrical activity, and violent gusts,” the organization adds in its latest newsletter.
Saturday, it is especially in the Alps that the storms are expected. Predictions that led, in addition to landslides, Tour organizers to significantly reduce the penultimate stage between Albertville and Val Thorens.
Read also: Tour de France: Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, in difficulty, gives up
Fire and drought
The drought plaguing many territories has exacerbated the drying of soils. Some 77 departments are affected by water restrictions. The rain that already affects certain regions “can relieve the soil in a state of water stress”, however, indicates Météo-France.
For affected farmers, the European Commission said Friday they could seek higher advances on European aid to redress their cash.
Drought and heat wave increases the risk of fires. Several thousand hectares of crops and vegetation were ravaged in Normandy, in the Centre, the Hauts-de-France and Lorraine Thursday and the firefighters were still fighting against fires Friday.
At least 1500 hectares have been destroyed by fires in the Eure since Thursday afternoon and eight fires were still in progress on Friday. In the Hauts-de-France, nearly 2000 hectares of farmland were destroyed on Thursday.
