Weather: Charente Placed on Yellow Alert, Thunderstorms Expected this Afternoon

While the morning promises to be relatively calm and bright, across the entire department of Charente, a sudden change in weather is expected in the afternoon. According to the weather forecasts by Meteo France, storm cells could develop as early as 3 pm, first affecting the west of Charente before reaching inland.

Thunderstorms could be accompanied by localized heavy precipitation, wind gusts exceeding 60 km/h, or even hail in places. Calm should return in the evening, with the sky still relatively cloudy. The return of warmer weather is expected for Friday.

Orange alert in 14 departments

Fourteen departments, including Paris and its suburbs, have been placed on orange alert for rain and flooding since 10 pm this Wednesday and until Thursday, Meteo France announced.

This orange alert for heavy rain and possible floods concerns the departments of Aisne, Aube, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Marne and Yonne, as well as Paris and Île-de-France (Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val-d’Oise).

“Sometimes stormy rains will become more and more frequent in departments placed on orange rain flood alert”, writes Meteo France in its bulletin published Wednesday afternoon.

The institute predicts, during the episode, that cumulative rainfall of 40 to 60 millimeters “will often be reached”. “Locally 80 mm is possible”, adds the forecast center. This alert will be lifted during the day on Thursday.

“The entire Île-de-France region is placed on Orange Alert”, the Paris police headquarters wrote on Wednesday on X.

These 14 departments were also placed on yellow alert for storms, alongside 66 other departments, from Pas-de-Calais to Bouches-du-Rhône.