Bad weather: June, a record month

They streak more and more often. The month of June 2022 marks a new record: 180,000 flashes, that is 8,000 more than in June 1993. In question : recent heat waves. On the ground, the temperature rises. The air is loaded with humidity and rises towards the clouds where it crosses colder currents. This explosive encounter gives birth to thunderstorms.

There are thunderstorms, but also hail. Hailstones that are up to 10 cm in diameter. They form in the clouds when the raindrops, carried by the warm air, rise and agglomerate. Small masses of ice that stick together to become huge hailstones that puncture roofs and windshields. Experts predict more frequent episodes to come. “In the context of climate change we will have a warmer atmosphere. We know that in a warmer atmosphere, we can have more water vapor and therefore more fuel for these storms. Thunderstorms and hailstorms are expected to intensify“, explains Christelle Robert, forecaster at Météo France. This also causes torrential rains.