Panic on the Côte Fleurie in Calvados. At the end of the day, this Saturday, huge gusts of wind surprised many residents who were taking advantage, in the heat wave, of milder temperatures in Normandy. While the mercury had exceeded 30°C during the day, it dropped nearly 15 degrees in a few minutes.
Along the entire coast, the sky quickly darkened and the sand heaved up. Some even think they are witnessing tornadoes. Storms and gusts of wind were observed in Deauville, Villers-sur-Mer, Ouistreham, Trouville and even as far as Le Havre. Testimonials on social media, sometimes accompanied by videos, show people struggling against the wind to hold back their beach towels, umbrellas and other belongings. Trees were uprooted.
It is in Villers-sur-Mer, a small seaside resort, that the most dramatic consequences have been observed. The Calvados prefecture confirmed to Le Parisien that a 31-year-old kitesurfer, probably from the Ile-de-France region and staying on the Côte Fleurie, died thrown onto a restaurant facade. “There are also three minor injuries who had to be evacuated to hospital and a few dozen people shocked by this phenomenon not foreseen by Météo France. The wind turned all the objects into projectiles. People were frightened, ”we continue on the side of state services.
Questioned by the Parisian, Thierry Granturco, the mayor of Villers-sur-Mer confirms the results, also specifying that “17 people have been relocated and 38 people taken care of by a psychological cell”. “Some people are relocated for material damage at home, most of them because they are from the Ile-de-France region, they had come to spend the Saturday with us and unfortunately a member of their family (one or other of the 5 injured ) is hospitalized in Calvados”, indicates the city councilor.
The prefecture has also committed resources, an SNSM boat and a helicopter, to search for a person who has disappeared off the coast of Deauville. “But with the panic, many people have been announced missing, we remain cautious”, ends the permanence of the prefecture.
“Sand and wood” particles
Witnesses of rather disturbing and unusual scenes tell. Luc and Mathilde, a young couple seated in a restaurant in the port of Honfleur, saw particles of “sand and wood” invade their plate. “The sky darkened within minutes. The sand was flying 5 or 6 m high, while there is no beach there, they are surprised with the Parisian. We took shelter, the traders brought people inside. There were gusts at 90 km/h. »
The 36th edition of the Cabourg film saw its awards ceremony disrupted, reports Ouest-France. Around 8:30 p.m., the wind and sand blew the barriers and forced the organizers and the police to evacuate the red carpet. Our colleagues even mention a “mini-tornado”.
A phenomenon of sudden wind (temperature drop in about twenty minutes), cold and wet that had experienced a little earlier in the evening the Basque Country. The galerne, meteorological name used by Météo France, is a phenomenon which is characterized in particular by a sudden drop in temperature (from 12 to 15°C), a rapid rise in humidity (around 85 or even 90%) and a rotation “violent” wind associated with a “sudden increase” in its speed, all “almost simultaneously and in a few minutes”.
According to the forecasts of Météo France, “punctual thunderstorms were expected on the western facade, starting in the South-West and going up towards Normandy, some of these thunderstorms could prove to be quite strong, accompanied by a few gusts of wind and especially ‘high electrical activity’.
The public meteorological establishment predicts a rainy-stormy degradation, more frank and more organized, expected for this Sunday evening. The heat wave will gradually decrease, to no longer concern only the eastern flank of the country.