Weather. Orange thunderstorm alert brought forward to 2 p.m. in Saône-et-Loire

Stormy evening over the Ain, in the middle of a heatwave week, as seen here in Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), on the night of August 13 to 14, 2025. Photo by Catherine Aulaz — Stormy evening over the Ain, in the middle of a heatwave, as seen here in Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), on the night of August 13 to 14, 2025. Photo by Catherine Aulaz

Météo France, which had initially placed Saône-et-Loire on orange alert for thunderstorms starting at 4 p.m., has just revised its forecast. The department will now be on orange alert for thunderstorms starting at 2 p.m. this Wednesday, August 27.

"From Wednesday afternoon, strong thunderstorms will form over Auvergne and then move up the Saône-et-Loire, also reaching the Jura from the end of the afternoon," the Saône-et-Loire prefecture explained in a press release.

These storms should be accompanied by very heavy rain (20 to 40 mm of rain in 1 hour, or even 50 mm very locally).

"Other occasional strong phenomena may occur, such as small to medium-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 60-80 km/h, or even 100 km/h in very localized areas," the prefecture announced.

A new round of thunderstorms is expected during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, which could lead to cumulative rainfall of 50 to 80 mm over the entire episode.

"When these phenomena occur, it is recommended to stay informed, limit your movements, move away from trees and waterways, protect property exposed to the wind or likely to be flooded and take shelter in a solid building," reminds the prefecture of Saône-et-Loire.