Thunderstorms and rains: what are the seven departments on alert?
Those living in Normandy and Pays de la Loire will not be able to really enjoy the fresh air on the weekend of June 10 and 11, 2023. Picnics and walks in the sun are already forgotten. Météo France has specified that the departments of Seine-Maritime, Eure, Calvados, Manche, Orne, Mayenne and Sarthe were placed under orange vigilance (level 3 out of 4) for thunderstorms Saturday June 10, 2023. The French official service of meteorology and climatology warned these seven departments against the “worrying nature” of some storm cells.
As a result, this situation “requires particular vigilance because of the expected high rainfall intensities”. The Normans and Ligerians will not really be able to enjoy their weekend, except for those who are not afraid to get wet! Under the advice of Météo France, Saturday, June 10, 2023, it is preferable to go out armed with a k-way and a solid umbrella, because “the showers will intensify during the day and take a stormy character over a large part of north-west France […]. These thunderstorms can then be particularly strong in some places, it is essentially the intensity of the rain that will have to be monitored”. What remains worrying despite these forecasts is that the location of thunderstorms remains “uncertain”. In fact, a storm, on a meteorological scale, is a fairly small phenomenon. It is therefore difficult to know their location and formation, especially when the atmospheric situation is “chaotic”, which Météo France revealed to be the case Saturday, June 10, 2023.
“From 30 to 50 mm in a few hours”
On Météo France’s Twitter account on Saturday June 10, 2023, a map of France was published, showing that almost the entire country is in yellow vigilance (level 2 of 4), also due to thunderstorms. If the alert is not really triggered, the French are called to remain vigilant. Indeed, on Sunday, June 4, 2023, major floods occurred in yellow vigilance zones, such as in Lyon where the equivalent of a month and a half of rain fell in a few hours, France 3 Auvergne Rhône-Alpes reported the same day. Therefore, you must remain cautious Saturday, June 10, 2023, even if your region is only in yellow vigilance. Météo France said that “very heavy rainfall is expected, potentially 30 to 50 mm in a few hours due to the limited mobility of storm cells. There is a risk of small hail and gusts of between 60 and 70 km/h”. There are still rare areas that will be spared the stormy character of the north-west of France, these are “the areas close to the Atlantic arc”. So if you’re out Saturday June 10, 2023, watch what’s going on over your head and above all, get outfitted! You never know.
