Overview

• Météo-France has placed Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Gers on orange alert for severe thunderstorms expected to bring heavy rain and gusts over 80 km/h.
• A high-pressure system over France combined with a low-pressure trough off Portugal is channeling hot Maghreb air and driving daytime highs to 36–37 °C in the southwest.
• Thunderstorms are forecast to develop this evening in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and march along the Atlantic coast, with successive cells possible through the weekend as the system shifts east.
• Forecasters warn that storms may produce localized hail up to 3 cm in diameter and wind gusts nearing 100 km/h in exposed areas.
• Temperatures should return to seasonal norms by Sunday once the weather system moves eastward across France.