France was battered by powerful thunderstorms overnight, with lightning striking the Eiffel Tower, heavy rain flooding parts of the country and large hailstones causing disruption across northern and western regions.
The storms swept through the Paris region and north-western France late on June 27 before moving northwards on June 28, producing thousands of lightning strikes and wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h, Caliber.Az reports via French media.
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was hit by a lightning bolt as repeated flashes illuminated the capital's skyline. A wind gust of 104.8 km/h was recorded at the top of the landmark, while the Top 14 rugby final between Stade Toulousain and Montpellier at the Stade de France was briefly suspended because of the severe weather.
The Keraunos French Observatory for Tornadoes and Violent Storms said it recorded 13,360 lightning strikes across France between 1800 and 2300 local time.
The worst-hit areas stretched from Indre-et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher through the Paris region to the departments of Oise, Somme, Aisne and Nord.
Around the town of Compiègne in the Oise department, torrential rain, strong winds of up to 90 km/h and hailstones measuring between two and three centimetres were reported. Dramatic storm clouds were also seen gathering over the western department of Mayenne before the storms arrived.
Near Rouen in Normandy's Seine-Maritime department, 9 mm of rain fell in just six minutes, accompanied by large hailstones. In neighbouring Val-d'Oise, 25 mm of rain was recorded in Pontoise within half an hour.
Authorities said the storm system was continuing its
By Aghakazim Guliyev
