A violent storm crossed the north of the Rhône department Sunday afternoon, before stopping at the gates of Ain. A viticulturist testifies at the microphone of Europe1 of the consequences of the hail for his harvests.

TESTIMONIAL EUROPE 1

Up to 7,500 lightning strikes were counted in two hours on Sunday night after heavy storms hit the Rhône department. Significant falls of hail have been noticed and on the social networks, the Net surfers have published photos and impressive videos.

hail on apple trees, a thought for winegrowers ... # thunderstorms # grele # hail # villefranchesursaone # pommierspic.twitter.com / 3PcwcRFgNg

- Marc Tallec (@entropik) August 18, 2019

"We will stay 10% of what we could have hoped for"

Even if an alert to violent storms had been given, the damage is considerable. Winegrowers Beaujolais, who were preparing for harvest rather early, face a spectacle of desolation Monday morning. Pierre-Marie Chermette, winemaker in Saint-Vérand, testifies at the microphone of Europe 1: "It all started around 3 pm with a hailstorm and a heavy rain, then there were four hail storms, which is exceptional. "

This winemaker's harvest will be heavily impacted this year: "We have 70% losses on the 30 hectares so we will lose half of the production, that's almost half of the turnover and we will stay 10 % of what we could have hoped for. " Pierre-Marie Chermette is obviously not the only farmer to be touched. It will nevertheless take several weeks to estimate the cost of the overall impact on the department's vineyards.