First drought, now downpours as storms slam France, England

PARIS (AP) — France is being whipped by violent storms that have flooded Paris subway stations, snarled traffic and disrupted the president’s agenda. Winds over 60 mph were recorded at the top of the Eiffel Tower during a flash flood Tuesday. President Emmanuel Macron postponed a World War II commemoration on the French Riviera planned for Wednesday. Thunderstorms in southern England also drenched London tourists and residents on Wednesday after unusually warm and sunny weather. Scattered storms swept across Belgium as well, and one flooded parts of the historic town of Ghent. The intense downpours came in a summer marked by drought, heat waves and forest fires in Western Europe that experts link to climate change.