The late summer heatwave is set to continue across much of southern France – more than two thirds of the country – while thunderstorms are expected to circulate to the north as temperatures pass their peak.
As it stands, 17 departments are on red heatwave alert across France with 39 under orange alert.
On yellow alert are 11 departments stretching from the Loire-Atlantique in the west to the Vosges on the eastern border with Germany.
As the late summer heatwave is expected to reach its peak this Thursday, some 25 departments are on orange alert for severe thunderstorms across the north of the country.
⚠️ #Vigilance - 2 phénomènes, ce jeudi #24août ⤵️
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) August 24, 2023
🌡️ #canicule
17 départements en #VigilanceRouge
39 départements en #VigilanceOrange, et l'Andorre
⛈️#orages
25 départements en #VigilanceOrange #vigilanceOrange
👉https://t.co/w5OGXbEEhP pic.twitter.com/dgFzEheufs
From Thursday morning, active thunderstorms will sweep from north-west to north-east across Normandy, Ile-de-France and towards the Ardennes.
The storms are expected to bring hailstones, heavy rainfall and wind gusts of up to 100 km/h.
Record-breaking temperatures
Across southern France, Corsica and the far north-east, the heatwave will however persist.
According to Méteo-France, Wednesday saw "a large number of maximum temperature records broken in the départements under red alert."
In Toulouse, for example, the thermometer registered 42.4°C, beating a previous record of 40.7°C.
Narbonne, just inland from the Mediterranean coast, the mercury rose to 42.1°C degrees compared with a previous record of 39.8°C.
On Tuesday, France experiences its hottest day ever recorded, only one week after the previous record for the highest temperature was broken on 15 August.
