Powerful supercell storm in France and England: large hail, floods, destroyed vineyards and one casualty
A powerful supercell storm with intense hail hit France and southern England on the evening of May 1st. A very unstable mass along with a cold front created an MCS with embedded supercells and very large hail. In France, the areas most affected by were Burgundy, Normandy, Île-de-France, Picardy, and Champagne, where precipitation was at times violent and abundant, with accumulations up to 100mm. A woman died due to a mudslide that swept away her home. Hailstones fallen in the municipality of Uncey-le-Franc were truly impressive, reaching diameters of up to 5cm.
12 hour animation showing thunderstorms across France growing into an MCS with embedded supercells & very large hail.
— Met4Cast. (@Met4CastUK) May 2, 2024
This storm system continued north into the south of the UK with further initialisation along the Estuary and through London. CAPE in excess of 1,500J/KG & pic.twitter.com/O6oVJGe6Lg
That storm across France isnt playing around, the intensity of this hail is insane!!!
— Met4Cast. (@Met4CastUK) May 1, 2024
pic.twitter.com/3vgqyL1ZuX
Not far northeast of Paris, in Tremblay-en-France, a veritable storm of rain mixed with hail broke out; the phenomenon turned the streets into rivers, causing inconvenience to motorists along the main roads, which turned out to be flooded. The storm hit also the capital, Paris, while flights at the Parisian airport were diverted to Brussels, Nantes, Lyon, and Amsterdam due to the poor weather conditions. The hail in France occurred after, a week ago, an out-of-season cold wave had already caused several damages to flowering crops. The severe storm hit the Chablis region on May 1 and destroyed the vineyards in just a few minutes. Chablis is a well-known dry white wine made from the renowned Chardonnay grape, flourishing the local economy.
Thunderstorm unleashed double trouble in #France bringing heavy rains and hail
— Earth42morrow (@Earth42morrow) May 2, 2024
VC: Th e Larock Valissant and Djam My#Storm #Flood #SaintDenis #Hail #Flooding #ValdOise #Orage #Inondation #Gr e #Weather #Viral #Climate pic.twitter.com/nq2a1gacsu
The storm headed towards the English Channel, reaching southern England with electrical activity that would be remarkable even in summer, let alone at the beginning of May. Some homes suffered damage, including a nursing home, due to the gusts of wind and lightning. In the last 24 hours, over 40 thousand lightning strikes were recorded in Western Europe, the majority of which were in France and southern England. Even London was affected by the storms.
Weather conditions will remain unstable over Western Europe, with bad weather continuing to affect France, extending to Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.