Overview
- Météo‑France put several south‑eastern departments on orange warning on Thursday 20 August because forecasters expected very heavy local rainfall, hail, strong gusts and intense lightning.
- Overnight thunderstorm cells produced intense, highly localised downpours with short‑term rates of 30–80 mm per hour and episode totals reported up to about 100–132 mm in places such as Levens and other coastal spots.
- Corsican authorities closed all massifs, banned outdoor activities and sheltered roughly 1,360 people in campsites as a precaution, while some flights and ferry sailings were cancelled or rescheduled.
- On Friday morning Météo‑France lifted the orange warning for Corsica after the disturbance proved less virulent and shifted toward the Gulf of Genoa, but kept the Var and Alpes‑Maritimes under orange for orages and pluies‑inondations into mid‑morning.
- Local impacts already included around 1,000 households without power, event and site closures and isolated fire starts from lightning, and authorities warned that dry soils and recent fires could increase runoff and flash‑flood risk in affected areas.