Storms in south, sun in north: French weekend weather outlook May 10 - 11
Hail is expected in the south-west on Saturday
The south-west in particular will be hit hard this weekend
Spech/Shutterstock
The contrasting weather of the last week is set to continue into the weekend, with storms expected in the south, west, and Alpine east while the north will be calm and sunny.
Temperatures will remain at average levels throughout France despite the varied conditions.
Friday May 9
Friday is somewhat of a calm before the storm, although some areas of the south and western coasts, as well as central France, may experience sporadic thunderstorms throughout the day.
If they do appear, the storms will be short and quick, lacking the power to remain in place.
The chance of storms and rain in the south will increase as the day goes on, particularly overnight.
The north will remain mostly unaffected, and cities close to the Belgian border could see up to 12 hours of sunshine throughout the day 鈥� compared to only four or five in the south.
Temperatures will hover at around 20C across the country.
Saturday May 10
A classic 鈥榥orth-south鈥� divide will begin to emerge - but in reverse of the usual set-up.
Conditions north of the Loire are set to be peaceful and sunny with few clouds.
To the south, however, thunderstorms are expected in several areas, particularly the south-west, west and central France, and the Rh么ne Valley.
The risk and intensity of the storms will increase as the day goes on, peaking in the late afternoon.
In the south-west, storms are set to bring over 50 mm of rain, and hail is likely.
There is also a risk of stormy weather in the south-east although this is not certain.
In Brittany, storms are also likely, although these will be mostly limited to coastal areas.
Some stormy weather may progress into Normandy late in the evening, but will not be as impactful as storms in the south.
Currently, state forecaster M茅t茅o France has not put any heightened warnings in place for Saturday鈥檚 storms, although some less-severe 鈥榶ellow鈥� warnings are in place .
Keep up to date with warnings through the official or through local channels, as conditions may worsen as the day progresses.
Read more: What to do - and not do - in a red or orange weather alert in France
Temperatures will be essentially homogenous, between 19C and 21C across the country.
The exception will be coastal areas of the English Channel, dropping to around 14C due to winds (despite the otherwise sunny and calm weather).
Sunday May 11
Forecasters are less certain of Sunday鈥檚 weather, as patterns are not clear as yet.
The calm weather in the northern third of the country looks set to remain, with the Belgian border and north-east free from any threatening conditions.
Storms in the south-west and west will continue, and may push upwards into the Loire Valley and south of Paris (the capital itself should remain untouched), as well as further into Brittany and Normandy.
Rainy weather in the south around the Massif Central may develop into storms.
Temperatures in most areas will be between 20C and 22C, although along the Mediterranean coastline and parts of the south-west, winds will see this drop to around 15C.
Early predictions for next week see rain cover much of France, before eventually clearing in the north. The south is likely to remain wet for most of the week, potentially into next weekend.
