Photos: greenhouses damaged and motorways battered as huge hailstones hit central France
Hail reached up to 6cm in diameter. Further storms are forecast today
More hail is expected today after pummeling the east of France yesterday
Meteovilles / X / Lukas Jonaitis / Shutterstock
Powerful storms battered central France yesterday, bringing hail and heavy rain to several areas 鈥� and more is set to come
Storms originating in the north-east of France swept towards the south-west throughout the course of the day, leading to heightened weather warnings being put in place in several departments.
In the Loire department 鈥� where a mini-tornado had struck during storms last weekend 鈥� hailstones around 6cm in diameter fell in several places.
Hail also fell along major motorways near Saint-Etienne and the commune of L'H么pital-le-Grand, following the passage of an extremely powerful 鈥榮upercell (orage supercellulaire), an isolated but violent storm.
Despite damage to some properties in the area, no deaths related to the storms have been reported, nor have any major incidents.
Summer storms in the department in 2024 tore the roof off of a care home, leading to residents requiring an emergency evacuation.
As the storms moved westwards yesterday, they hit the Puy-de-D么me department, including Clermont-Ferrand.
More photos of the storm鈥檚 dramatic formation in the sky were posted by weather observation site Keraunos.
Storms continue on Wednesday
Storms are set to continue today across the east of France, from Alsace to the French Riviera and Perpignan.
Currently, state forecaster M茅t茅o France has placed nine departments on a heightened, tier-three orange warning for storms and heavy rain/flash flooding.
The warnings are set to last until 21:00, as storms ravage the areas into the evening, but be lifted by tomorrow (June 5) morning.
Alerts may be updated as the storms progress, and you can keep up to date with current warnings through the official .
In the affected departments, further hail is expected, up to potentially 5cm in diameter.
Winds of 100 km/h are also possible, and up to 30mm of rain is projected to fall in just a few minutes in areas along the Rh么ne river including Lyon.
People are recommended to stay indoors, secure or bring in outdoor furniture, and to park their vehicle in a safe space away from falling trees.
In case of sudden heavy rains, it is advised not to drive on roads that seem flooded (even only partially flooded), and to lower driving speed.
Those caught in rain but not in a vehicle should seek safe indoor shelter as soon as possible.
