One woman has been killed and 14 people injured as a devastating storm tore through France.

       Hailstones the size of tennis balls were posted online by residents of south-west France, while lightning set roofs on fire in the east of Paris on Saturday.

       Gigantic hailstones rained down in France this weekend

       (AFP via Getty Images)

       A woman was swept away by flooding and found dead under a car in Rouen, interior minister Gérald Darmanin, announced in a tweet.

       The minister said that 65 departments experienced orange alert for the first time in 20 years.

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       He added that two of the injuries reported are serious.

       After the storm hit the country, thousands of households were left without electricity which still had not been restored the following day, according to utility firm Enedis.

       Flights from Paris’s Orly airport were temporarily suspended on Saturday, while Charles de Gaulle experienced flight delays.

       Thousands of young people who were taking part in a huge scout gathering in the Loire Valley were forced to take refuge in the Chateau of Chambord as the storm wrecked the area.

       A vineyard damaged by a hailstorm in Le Freche some 24kms from Mont-de-Marsan, southwestern France

       (AFP via Getty Images)

       The chateau director told public broadcaster France-Info that some children were treated for signs of hypothermia but no serious injuries were

       Veterans who were gathered for the 78th anniversary of the World War II D-Day invasion against the Nazis on Normandy beaches were met with torrential rains.

       Elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Sunday morning on track to come ashore in southern Florida with heavy rains and gusty wind.

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       National Hurricane Center forecasters said in a 5 a.m. advisory that Alex had sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and was located about 270 miles (435 kilometers) northeast of Fort Pierce, Florida.

       Parts of South Florida were experiencing road flooding from heavy rain and wind Saturday. Officials in Miami warned drivers about road conditions as many cars were stuck on flooded streets.