The winds and waves from storm Pierrick are not the only weather dangers weighing on France this Monday. Locally strong thunderstorms are expected on a central axis crossing the entire country from North to South.
Météo France places 48 departments and the principality of Andorra on yellow alert (level 2 out of 4) due to this threat. Two lines of storms should take shape from the end of the afternoon and until the beginning of the night, the first from the South-West to the Ardennes and the second from Normandy to Hauts-de-France.
/Meteo France
Keraunos, the French observatory for tornadoes and violent storms, warns that “these storms could be virulent and produce heavy rain mixed with hail”. Locally, wind gusts could reach more than 100 km/h under the strongest storm cells. In addition, there is a risk of “vortex phenomena”, i.e. tornadoes.
The regions most at risk are located in the north of the country. The risk of such weather monsters forming is rated “moderate”. This qualification is translated into a percentage of risk. In the bright green area on this map it is 15% to 30%. In the pale green area, it is 5% to 15%.
/Keraunos
Two clarifications, one optimistic and the other negative, must be made. On the one hand it is a percentage, a probability. There is therefore no certainty that such a phenomenon will occur. The risk is not considered maximum or even strong.
But, and it is this point which must call for vigilance: the last two tornadoes recorded in France in recent weeks occurred when the risk percentage was only in the 5-15% range. At the end of March, due to Storm Nelson, significant damage was caused on the island of Yeu, in Vendée. Last Thursday, near Lunéville, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, a tornado formed in the Vitrimont forest.
Supercell day in South 54 today :D! #thunderstorm #weather #tornado
3 LT Supercell and 2 possible cases of tornadoes, to be followed for field investigations! @KeraunosObs @MeteoExpress @infoclimat @Estofex @meteociel @meteofrance @Departement54 pic.twitter.com/BEONrbs845
— Kévin Leclercq ⚡ (@EatMyStorm) April 4, 2024
Hidden by the power of the precipitation, it surprised a motorist. Questioned by Keraunos, she explains that her car was “like sucked in” and that branches were flying “in all directions”. The tornado ended at the entrance to the town, located a few kilometers southeast of Nancy.
Ground contact established for the tornado between Lunéville and Rosieres (54) #storm #tornado @KeraunosObs @MeteoExpress @infoclimat @AugrisCorentin @essl_ecss pic.twitter.com/Sat03D3j5n
— Kévin Leclercq ⚡ (@EatMyStorm) April 5, 2024
There is a way to tell if a tornado is heading in the direction a person is located. Looking at her, if she doesn't seem to be taking any particular direction, it's because she's heading towards that person.