Thunderstorms: orange alert for seven departments in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Météo-France announced at dawn on Friday, June 6, that it had placed five departments in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region – Haute-Loire, Loire, Rhône, Isère and Ain – on orange alert due to a "significant stormy episode." In its bulletin published at 10 a.m. , the meteorological institute extended the orange alert to two departments: Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

Thunderstorms will begin at 4 p.m., and several successive bursts of rain and thunderstorms will affect the region until Friday night into Saturday. This warning is expected to end at midnight in Haute-Loire, Loire, and Rhône. In Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Ain, and Isère, it will last until 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

Residents of these departments can expect hail, with hailstones "several centimeters in diameter , " heavy rain "in a very short time," and some gusts of thunderstorms, "and even some whirlwind phenomena," according to Météo-France. "This stormy deterioration is not strictly speaking widespread, so it is mainly the north of Isère that should be affected," the institute specifies.

The departments neighboring those on orange alert, some of which must be placed on yellow alert in the afternoon, are also "likely to be affected by the risk of violent phenomena" , in particular Drôme and Ardèche, warns Météo-France.