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WEATHER

Mercury to top 40C (again) in central France

France's weather agency issued a heatwave warning for central France on Friday, predicting temperatures to reach 40C in some parts of the country.

Mercury to top 40C (again) in central France
A woman stays cool in Lyon, where temperatures reached 40C on Thursday. Photo: AFP
France's scorching summer shows no sign of fizzling out.
 
On Friday, weather agency Météo France issued an “orange alert” for the Rhône département in central France, which is set to stay in place until 9pm on Saturday. 
 
That's the second highest warning level and asks the public to be “vigilant”.
 
 
Temperatures in the area have been high in recent days, with Lyon reaching 39C on Thursday and nearby Vallon-Pont-D'Arc hitting 41C. Nights have been warm too, with the mercury not dropping below 23C in the area. 
 
Friday afternoon will be a sweltering one for much of the eastern half of France, with hot spots especially in the eastern central area, continuing into the night (see maps below). 
 
But if you're hoping for a warm weekend you'll likely be disappointed. Showers will move in from the west on Saturday morning, developing into storms in the east by Sunday evening.


(Temperatures will reach 39C in some areas on Friday afternoon. Photo: Météo France)


(Some part of central eastern France won't drop below 27C in the middle of the night. Photo: Météo France)

This summer has been a particularly hot one for France and left many areas in drought and with water restrictions imposed. 
 
July's heatwave, which claimed the lives of at least 700 people, has also affected tourists and climbers in the French Alps, where authorities have warned that there are risks of avalanches on Mont Blanc as the warm temperatures soften the snow pack.

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WEATHER

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

Blizzards in Denmark this week have resulted in the greatest depth of snow measured in the country for 13 years.

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

A half-metre of snow, measured at Hald near East Jutland town Randers, is the deepest to have occurred in Denmark since January 2011, national meteorological agency DMI said.

The measurement was taken by the weather agency at 8am on Thursday.

Around 20-30 centimetres of snow was on the ground across most of northern and eastern Jutland by Thursday, as blizzards peaked resulting in significant disruptions to traffic and transport.

A much greater volume of snow fell in 2011, however, when over 100 centimetres fell on Baltic Sea island Bornholm during a post-Christmas blizzard, which saw as much as 135 centimetres on Bornholm at the end of December 2010.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s January storms could be fourth extreme weather event in three months

With snowfall at its heaviest for over a decade, Wednesday saw a new rainfall record. The 59 millimetres which fell at Svendborg on the island of Funen was the most for a January day in Denmark since 1886. Some 9 weather stations across Funen and Bornholm measured over 50cm of rain.

DMI said that the severe weather now looks to have peaked.

“We do not expect any more weather records to be set in the next 24 hours. But we are looking at some very cold upcoming days,” DMI meteorologist and press spokesperson Herdis Damberg told news wire Ritzau.

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