Heatwaves have been hitting France for several months, including the fourth heatwave occurring this week. A situation that made the ground very fragile and dry, leading to a record-breaking drought in the entire country placed under alert. Although rain and thunderstorms forecasted by Météo France sound relieving, it means flooding risks are particularly high in a lot of regions.
As a matter of fact, Météo France says the weather is to deteriorate in the western part of the country, starting this Sunday, before hitting the rest of France. Rain and thunderstorms are likely to cool off bodies and provide a little bit of rest, but they could also lead to major natural disaster. Thunderstorms, “which activity could be intense”, will occur as the soil’s air will be still hot, the latter meeting the cold air in the altitude.
Yet, the air humidity is below 20%, which lowers the probability of violent storms, if it remains such. The very dry air in the country – excluding on reliefs or the Norman coasts, let us think dry storms are likely to occur, with rare rainfalls. In this case, the rain will never have the time to hit the ground because of the extreme temperatures. It would reduce the risk of floodings, as the dry soils cannot absorb too much water. Spates and mudslides would be prevented then.
