Parts of south west France are bracing for severe thunderstorms on Monday afternoon, while 20 départements in eastern and south-eastern France remain on orange heatwave alert.
France's forecaster, Météo-France, has expanded its orange-level thunderstorm warning to cover 10 départements starting 4pm on Monday, warning that some storms could become particularly violent.
These are: Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze, Dordogne, Haute-Garonne, Lot, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne.
According to the weather forecaster, thunderstorms will develop over the Pyrénées before moving north-east towards the western Massif Central during the afternoon and evening.
The storms are likely to bring heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and hail. The orange thunderstorm alert is currently due to remain in place until midnight.
Météo-France forecaster shows the départements on orange alert for thunderstorms. (Météo-France)Heatwave warnings
At the same time, 20 départements across eastern and south-eastern France remain under an orange heatwave alert as high temperatures continue.
These are: Ain, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Doubs, Drôme, Gard, Isère, Jura, Loire, Rhône, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Var, Vaucluse and the Territoire de Belfort.
Météo-France forecaster shows the départements on orange alert for a heatwave. (Météo-France)Météo-France said the alert level will begin to ease in some areas over the coming days. Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes are expected to downgrade from orange to yellow at 10pm on Monday, while Loire and Saône-et-Loire are set to follow at 6am on Tuesday if conditions improve.
