Supercell Storm Sweeps Across France, Italy and Switzerland

A powerful supercell storm has swept across France, Italy and Switzerland, unleashing huge hailstones and violent winds reaching speeds of up to 90mph.

The severe weather arrived after weeks of intense European heatwaves that left communities struggling and disrupted everyday life across the continent.

Before the storms broke, wildfires had ripped through large areas of drought-dried forest, while rivers fell to record-low levels after prolonged dry conditions.

In France’s Seine-et-Marne region, east of Paris, the force of the winds was strong enough to knock people off their feet. Footage filmed outside a supermarket showed one man tumbling as he tried to make his way into the store.

Another video, captured in the Paris suburb of Vitry-sur-Seine, showed trees bent almost at right angles as torrential rain was driven sideways by the ferocious gusts.

The hailstorm was powerful enough to smash car windows. On the A36 near Besançon, one driver posted footage showing hailstones cracking and shattering his vehicle’s windshield.

Large dents and impact marks could be seen across the glass as he and other motorists sat trapped in heavy traffic brought on by the dangerous weather conditions.

Another driver shared a video of large tree branches flying through the air and landing on cars. 

He screamed in horror as a branch was snapped off a nearby tree, before falling onto the car in front of him. 

In one particularly terrifying video taken on a train in Paris, petrified commuters screamed as a window of the locomotive caved in.

Rainwater and hail immediately began spraying into the carriage, forcing people to flee. 

Over in Switzerland, hailstones the size of golf balls pelted homes across the north of the country. 

One person filmed the storm from inside his home and watched on in horror as his outdoor furniture was decimated by the hail. 

And in northern Italy, military forecasters have warned that severe rainfall will affect the north of the country. 

They warned that heavy rain will be seen in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy, which will be accompanied by hail, frequent lightning strikes and strong gusts of wind. 

petrified commuters screamed as a window of the locomotive caved in 

Forecasters said: ‘Expect some disruption to daily routines and be prepared for disruption to outdoor activities.’ 

The heatwaves across Europe are believed to have caused €180billion (£154billion) in damage, through lowered productivity and disruptions to agriculture, energy and transport.

Hans Stegeman, chief economist at Triodos Bank, said earlier this month: ‘This summer shows that climate change is not a distant economic risk. 

‘The extreme heat we all experience today shows concretely how climate change will affect lives, workers and prosperity across Europe.

‘For this year, the loss of 1% of GDP would mean stagnation. That is a real cost, but no catastrophe. Yet the extreme heat this year is just a taster of what’s coming if we do not act quickly and forcefully on climate change. 

‘The most powerful thing we can do to lower these costs is to mitigate climate change. That means changing our lifestyles and transforming our economies so that we use less energy and resources.’ 

On top of the economic damage caused by the shocking weather seen in Europe, as many as 36,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the heatwaves.

Germany was the worst hit country for excess fatalities. The country registered around 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer. 

Around 9,600 were recorded in just one week in late June, when the nation was seared by 40C temperatures. 

France was also badly hit, registering around 7,300 heat-related deaths.