Tragedy Strikes France as Child Loses Life in Storm: On Wednesday evening, severe winds, lightning, and flash floods resulted in the deaths of two individuals and caused widespread disruption throughout France.
In Paris, numerous metro stations and roadways were flooded due to intense rainfall that followed a day of extreme heat.
Footage captured near the Eiffel Tower showed lightning illuminating the night sky while hailstones the size of golf balls struck the streets below.
A 12-year-old boy sadly lost his life when he was struck by a falling tree while trying to cool off by a river in Tarn-et-Garonne, a southern region where wind gusts reached up to 114 km/h earlier that day.
In addition, a 59-year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a fallen tree in Mayenne, situated in northwestern France, as reported by Le Parisien.
In the capital city, firefighters responded to 40 incidents involving downed trees. Rainwater also penetrated the roof of the National Assembly building, disrupting discussions among ministers regarding Middle Eastern affairs while emergency responders attended to the situation.
In Dordogne, hailstones comparable to golf balls caused damage to roofs at the height of the storm. Belvès alone recorded damage to over 70 buildings.
By midnight, Lightning Maps indicated more than 39,000 lightning strikes had occurred across France and Belgium.
This extreme weather event followed several days of record-setting temperatures nearing 40°C during what has been identified as France’s first summer heatwave.
Tristan Amm from Météo France remarked that this heatwave has been “notable for its intensity” and “early arrival,” with only three previous instances historically noted for occurring earlier in the year.
On Wednesday night, Météo France announced that thunderstorms would “decrease overnight from Wednesday into Thursday,” shifting towards northern and northeastern borders while predicting continued high temperatures over the weekend and into next week.
Residents in southeast England have been warned to prepare for “lightning, hail, and heavy rain” before storms are expected to subside later on Thursday.
Paul Gundersen from the Met Office stated: “Throughout Thursday, rain will move eastward across the UK before transitioning into showers accompanied by occasional sunny breaks.”
He added that eastern areas will start dry on Friday; however, incoming rain from the west is anticipated to lead to showery conditions later on.
While many parts of the UK are likely to remain dry; Gundersen mentioned some rain may shift southeastward and eastward by Saturday.
On Sunday, variable cloudiness with showers is expected in northern regions alongside “patchy rain and drizzle” in western areas; otherwise, it will predominantly be dry with periods of sunshine.
Forecasts indicate that parts of southern England could experience temperatures reaching up to 30°C over the weekend, higher than those projected for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
