Weather warnings in 11 departments as France鈥檚 stormy spell continues
Central and eastern areas of the country on heightened alert for thunderstorms
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Stormy conditions continue to dominate France鈥檚 weather forecasts this week, with 11 departments in central and eastern areas placed on orange alert.
In its mid-morning bulletin, national forecaster M茅t茅o France warned of violent storms, with hail, winds gusting up to 100kph and sudden heavy rainfall in Ain, Doubs, Jura, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Haute-Savoie, Territoire de Belfort, Allier, Loire, Puy-de-Dome and Rh么ne departments.
Its orange weather alert - the forecaster鈥檚 second-highest - urges residents in those departments to 鈥榖e very vigilant鈥� of the impending weather conditions. A further 67 departments are currently on the less serious 鈥榶ellow alert鈥� for storms.
Up to 30mm of rain could fall per hour, meteorologists said, with the storms forecast to hit between 14.00 and 18.00.
Two of those departments - Puy-de-D么me and Allier - have been on orange weather alert for storms since Sunday, while Loire and Rh么ne were added in the forecaster鈥檚 early morning update.
M茅t茅o France said that this latest thunderstorm activity would decrease overnight when, it said, it expected to be able to lift its weather alert.
