Assessment of thunderstorms & heavy rain in France on June 3 and 4, 2020

Many thunderstorms erupted over France during the day on Wednesday, June 3, followed by heavy thunderstorm rain over the southeast this Thursday, June 4. Temperatures dropped and several regions received generous watering.

Many thunderstorms Wednesday June 3

After a very early June worthy of the heart of summer, a stormy degradation affected many regions during the day on Wednesday, June 3. The thunderstorms were accompanied by hail.

Lightning strike card from Wednesday June 3 at 12 a.m. to Thursday June 4, 2020 at 10 a.m. – via lightningmaps.com

In accordance with forecasts, thunderstorms increased during the day on Wednesday 3 June over all the regions of central and eastern France, notably concerning the surroundings of the Massif Central, the pre-Alps, the Jura and Burgundy in progress by day before bursting later from eastern Brittany to Luxembourg via the Pays de la Loire, Île-de-France and Champagne.

The blitzortung network has counted nearly 29,000 flashes in France on the single day of Wednesday, June 3, a fairly important activity despite the many disparities on a local scale. These thunderstorms have in fact formed into more or less disorganized clusters, so that they have retained a relatively localized character.

Large hail falls at Villey-sur-Tille in Côte-d’Or – via Le Bien Public

In addition to the heavy rains, this stormy degradation was accompanied by frequent precipitation in the form of hail. Relatively modest in size most of the time, these hail were, however, abundant in several regions. This was particularly the case in eastern Burgundy with significant hail accumulations in the town of Villey-sur-Tille (Côte-d’Or).

Hail thunderstorms hit Haut-Jura this afternoon. At Septmoncel, hail has whitened the soil. (© Chalet Des Sibériens on facebook) pic.twitter.com/GqdbiCGzJo

– Cities Weather (@Meteovilles) June 3, 2020

In Haut-Jura, thunderstorms followed one another during the afternoon of June 3, accompanied by hail falls, sometimes significant. In some municipalities, the soils have been temporarily covered by hail as evidenced by the above images taken in Septmoncel (39).

Arcus above Geneva at the arrival of the thunderstorm in the afternoon of June 3, 2020 – photo benji_m_c on Instagram

Arcus in the sky of Lausanne (Switzerland) in the afternoon of June 3, 2020 – indiencontraire on Instagram

When the storm cells arrived, many arcuses were photographed. One of these particularly aesthetic clouds crossed the entire Lake Geneva basin during the afternoon of Wednesday June 3. The above photos were taken in Geneva and Lausanne. Despite the rather frightening side of the cloud, no violent phenomenon was observed during the passage of this storm. In Geneva, the latter will have brought only 5 mm of rain.

Île-de-France hard hit Wednesday evening

Spared during the day, Île-de-France was badly hit by thunderstorms during the evening. The latter produced hail and heavy rains that lasted overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

Animation of the precipitation radar on Wednesday June 3 from 8:20 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. – via meteociel.fr

It was after 8 pm Wednesday evening that thunderstorms really multiplied in Île-de-France. Little by little, a large part of the region was affected, although Essonne, Seine-et-Marne and the Paris region were the most heavily affected. Severe thunderstorms accompanied by hail fell, associated with particularly impressive rainfall intensities! At the height of the storm, radar images reported rainfall intensities above 500 mm / h in certain districts of Paris! Wednesday evening, accumulations one to two hours only have reached 18 mm in Paris-Montsouris, 24 mm in Saint-Germain-des-Près, 26 mm in Orly and 28 mm in Combs-la-Ville (77).

Impressive downpour of rain and hail under the thunderstorm #Paris this Wednesday evening. Significant runoff is observed in the streets. (video @LaurePLF) pic.twitter.com/J40TVgwoaw

– Cities Weather (@Meteovilles) June 3, 2020

With the torrential rains that fell on the capital, some stations of the Paris metro (like Victor Hugo here) were flooded. (video @avizoldik) pic.twitter.com/ioMT7Z5JPm

– Cities Weather (@Meteovilles) June 3, 2020

In the streets of Paris as in the whole of the Paris region, many runoffs and some floods were observed. Some parts of the capital have been temporarily cleared by hail. In the Paris metro, several stations were flooded as shown in the video above shot from Victor Hugo station on line 2 (western districts of Paris).

Powerful hailstorms spread throughout the Paris region this evening. Very impressive video in Créteil (94) by @JeromePasanau ! pic.twitter.com/r4Mzf7y0Bk

– Cities Weather (@Meteovilles) June 3, 2020

A little earlier, the Créteil sector in Val-de-Marne was undoubtedly one of the hardest hit by hail. The floors of the city were completely whitewashed and hail caused damage to the vegetation by dropping many leaves and branches as evidenced by the images above. It was through Val-de-Marne that the virulent thunderstorm cell was initiated, which then crossed the center of Paris.

Tornado near Étampes, a little damage anyway … pic.twitter.com/vMde88A3zf

– Thomas (@ Mr_RedBlood91) June 3, 2020

In addition, a vortex phenomenon was observed Wednesday evening towards Étampes in Essonne. The video above shows a long snorkel whose contact with the ground is not visible. However, this would have occurred since slight damage was observed very close to the shooting of the video (damaged roof). If these observations are correct, it is therefore a tornado (low intensity and short life).

Lightning strike on Paris in the evening of Wednesday June 3, 2020 – photo Gerald Barbier

Besides hail and intense rain, electrical activity was significant in Île-de-France. Two of the three French departments most affected this Wednesday, June 3, 2020 were Ile-de-France departments: Essonne with 1.412 flashes detected and Seine-et-Marne with 1.544 lightnings. These departments are only preceded by Creuse with 2.267 flashes on this day of June 3.

Map of cumulative precipitation in Île-de-France from June 3 at 4 p.m. to June 4 at 4 p.m. – via meteociel.fr

Following these thunderstorms, heavy rains continued to fall during the night of June 3 to 4 over much of Île-de-France with more activity in its southern and western part, up to the region Parisian. Significant accumulations were recorded in less than 24 hours, ending a long-lasting dry period.

Some accumulations in Île-de-France from June 3 at 4 p.m. to June 4 at 4 p.m. :

• 22.9mm at the Jardin du Luxembourg (75006)
• 27.6mm at the Lariboisière hospital (75010)
• 29.6mm in Fontainebleau (77)
• 31.6mm in Saint-Germain-des-Près (75006)
• 32 mm in Paris-Montsouris (75014)
• 39.4 mm in Torcy (77)
• 41.2 mm at Saclas (91)
• 45.7 mm in Paris-Orly (91)
• 47.2 mm at Nangis (77)
• 51.4 mm in Combs-la-Ville (77)

Heavy rain over the southeast Thursday morning

In the second time, an active rainy episode affected the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region during the night of June 3 to 4 and until Thursday June 4 in the afternoon. Significant cumulations have been recorded.

Urban floods in Roquebrune-cap-Martin in the Alpes-Maritimes this June 4, 2020 – via Météo Côte d’Azur

The waters of the Loup rose rapidly in the Alpes-Maritimes this June 4, 2020 – photo Séverine Neuquelman (FTV)

The rains were abundant in the second part of the night from Wednesday 3 to Thursday 4 June over the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. During the night, it was the Eyragues sector in the north-west of Bouches-du-Rhône which was the most affected by the stormy rains with an accumulation of 68 mm between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. (total of 91.8 mm over the episode). It was then the Var, the Alpes-Maritimes and the south of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence which were the most watered with accumulations frequently between 50 and 100 mm. Many urban runoffs have been observed but the consequences of this episode have been fairly limited.

Map of cumulative precipitation on PACA on June 4, 2020, stopped at 5 p.m. – via meteociel.fr

Some accumulations recorded on Thursday June 4, 2020 (stopped at 5 p.m.) :

• 94.4 mm in Valbonne-Sophia (06)
• 91.4 mm at Eyragues (13)
• 87.3 mm in Antibes (06)
• 83.7mm at Comps-sur-Artuby (83)
• 81 mm in Cannes (06)
• 80.5 mm at Cuers (83)
• 73.8mm in Nice (06)
• 71.5mm in Castellane (04)
• 62.6 mm in Pégomas (06)

The bad weather will stop this Friday but often gray and wet weather is on the program with temperatures which will remain below seasonal norms throughout France until the end of the week.

– .