On Thursday, a severe storm characterized by strong winds and heavy rain wreaked havoc in southern France, northern Spain, and parts of Portugal, leading to widespread disruptions including flight, train, and ferry cancellations. French officials reported that a driver lost their life when a tree struck their truck, and numerous people were injured in weather-related incidents across Spain, while floods in Portugal destroyed a viaduct.

Meteorologists in France described the storm, named Nils, as unusually strong and disruptive. In response to the crisis, the French electricity distributor Enedis mobilized around 3,000 personnel to restore power to the affected households. By Friday morning, the company announced that electricity had been restored to about 50% of the 900,000 customers who lost power.

Enedis' crisis management head, Herve Champenois, highlighted the challenges faced in the recovery efforts, noting that floods have hampered repair work as fields remain submerged and certain roads are blocked. Residents of southern France expressed their shock at the severity of the storm, with one resident, Ingrid, commenting, 'I've never seen anything like this.' The impact of the storm underscores the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region, raising concerns about climate resilience and emergency preparedness.