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Many vineyards in Provence were damaged by thunderstorms with heavy hailstorms a few days ago. The regions of the western Côtes d'Azur in the Var department are particularly affected. The first estimates of the experts put the damage at over 90 percent in the core of the hail corridor, while neighbouring plots show losses of about 20 percent. The hailstones on the ground had reached a height of ten to 15 centimetres. Never before has such damage been observed on such large areas.
The risk of further damage is also very high for the coming days. Meteorologist Yohan Laurito (Météo Varoise) told the specialist magazine Vitisphere that the weather situation is an "explosive cocktail": a low-pressure area in the southeast, a warm spell near the ground, cool and humid air at altitude and an exchange of heat over the hills with wind on the slopes lead to the classic formation of thunderstorms - with the special feature that they are more dynamic due to the accumulation of low-pressure and cool high-altitude air. These conditions could persist for another seven to ten days, warns Yohan Laurito.
(uka / Source: Vitisphere, Météo Varoise)