Tour de France: Heat Continues into Monday

By Andy Mussoline, Meteorologist

July 19,2015; 9:48PM,EDT

 

 

As the Tour de France continues across southern France on Monday, the cyclists will have to again deal with heat, while the threat for thunderstorms loom during the afternoon.

Temperatures in the valleys will quickly rise into the lower 30s C (middle to upper 80s F) for the first portion of the race. As racers climb into higher elevations as the stage progresses, temperatures will be slightly cooler, in the middle 20s C (middle to upper 70s F).
The heat will force the competitors to work extra hard to stay hydrated. Spectators should seek shade when possible and stay hydrated as well.
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As was the case over the weekend, afternoon thunderstorms will develop across the Alps, threatening the races with drenching downpours and lightning. However, the threat for rain will be lower than the weekend and most of the thunderstorms will remain in the higher mountains just to the east of the finish.
Races have a rest day on Tuesday before the mountainous stage 17 on Wednesday that takes place in the far southeast of France. A disturbance moving across France is expected to lead to more numerous showers and thunderstorms.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys expects "most of the thunderstorm activity to develop from the late morning into the afternoon." He adds "some of the storms could contain heavy rain leading to the threat for flash flooding in poor drainage areas."
Content contributed by AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty.