The French Riviera is bracing for heavy rain and thunderstorms, starting from the early hours of Thursday morning (28 August 2025).
The Côte d’Azur Meteo (weather service) urged residents and visitors to the region to “stay vigilant” and follow weather updates.
According to the Meteo, in a post titled ‘Vigilance’ and published at 7pm on Wednesday evening, the storms will “affect the entire region in the coming hours“.
The Var department has been placed on Orange Alert. Thunderstorms and rain, with flooding, are expected from around 4am tonight until midday tomorrow (Thursday). The alert will then shift to Yellow until mid-afternoon (around 3pm).
The Alpes-Maritimes department remains on Yellow Alert, with a risk of thunderstorms until tomorrow evening, 7pm. Heavy rain and possible flooding has been predicted before 3pm. The Meteo has advised that the Yellow Alert could be upgraded to an Orange Alert for tomorrow morning.
David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes, explained that the thunderstorms which are approaching are moving up from Spain through the Languedoc.
The weather service said: “From late Wednesday night into Thursday, a storm system with heavy rain will reach western Bouches-du-Rhône before quickly moving eastward and gaining strength. By early Thursday morning, it will affect areas from eastern Bouches-du-Rhône through the Var. These stormy rains will also reach the Alpes-Maritimes during the first part of the day (morning to midday).”
Rainfall totals are expected to reach 40–60 mm in a short time, locally up to 80–100 mm.
In the Alpes-Maritimes, 20–40 mm are expected, and locally 50–60 mm.
The Meteo warned: “Wind gusts could reach 80–100 km/hr under the strongest storms, with a risk of tornado-like phenomena, accompanied by hail. This highly unstable front will then move off into the Mediterranean. Stay alert as it passes!”
The second half of the day is predicted to be more stable, with some sun breaking through. However there is a possibility of a fresh downpour, with thunderstorms for the rest of the day, particularly inland and in the hills.
Following previous occasions when the authorities have been criticised for not alerting the public to a storm in time, or over-reacting when a storm has ultimately proved to be fairly mild, Cannes’ mayor stressed that “we are neither trivialising the alert, nor dramatising it, and we act methodically, in a preventive manner.”
He confirmed that drains and sites where stormwaters gather have been cleared over the last few weeks as part of the city’s annual operations; and added that “they are being checked for further precautions”.
