Hailstorms and heavy rains hit the Southwest late Monday, May 19, 2025, with rivers sometimes bursting their banks, authorities reported.

A tree fell in the center of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), secondary roads flooded, and schools evacuated. Firefighters carried out hundreds of emergency operations in departments placed on orange alert by Météo-France.

The rains gradually eased overnight from Monday to Tuesday. In the space of a few hours, cumulative rainfall reached 60 mm in Lavaur (Tarn), 78 mm in Saint-Félix-Lauragais (Haute-Garonne), and could exceed 80 mm overnight.

Orange alerts lifted, except in the Var region

At 6 a.m., all orange alerts were lifted in the region, according to the latest Météo-France bulletin. Only the Var region, in the southeast, remains at this alert level for rain, flooding, and thunderstorms, at least until 12 p.m.

In this department, this Tuesday morning, thunderstorms could “produce heavy rainfall, ranging from 80 to 120 mm in three hours,” Météo-France warned in a previous bulletin.