Weather tracker: France reels from deadly thunderstorms and lightning

Severe thunderstorms swept across France last Friday, killing one person and injuring another. Two systems were involved, prompting orange weather warnings: the first came from the west via Brittany and hit the north of the country, and the second arrived via Spain and affected south-west France. More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded between midnight on Friday and early Saturday. Eure, north of Paris, was worst hit with 4,326 strikes. Strong winds lashed Normandy – Rouen recorded a 76mph (123km)/h) gust that broke the 64mph record set in 2019. Hail affected several areas, leading to infrastructure and crop damage. There were further storms over central and north-west France on Saturday night, many with very large hailstones. The largest, found in Orly, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, measured 85mm. Several factors led to the severe weather. A key component was a phenomenon known as goutte froide, in which an isolated, upper-air cold pool detached from the overall circulation, ...