Low-pressure system tracking over intensely heated land results in large hailstones and frequent lightning
After several days of intense heat, large parts of France were hit by severe thunderstorms on Wednesday night as powerful supercells swept north-east across the country.
A low-pressure system that originated near Portugal tracked over an unusually warm Bay of Biscay towards northern France late on Wednesday, bringing a strong upper-level disturbance over land that had been intensely heated through the day. As a result, several long-lived supercells formed, producing large hailstones, frequent lightning, damaging winds and torrential rainfall.
