Count yourselves lucky

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If this had been Le Mans week, you wouldn't have really enjoyed it, that's for sure. The last time I can remember such storms was the Wednesday of 2008 when the tunnels were flooded, but this week has been worse. We had torrential storms Wednesday, we've had rain since, but Saturday beat them all. 11pm, night, rain so hard I couldn't sleep due to the drumming on the roof, then another during the night at 2pm, the lightning flashing all around. Wednesday provided 512 lightning bolts in the Sarthe it seems. And this evening, for many who stay over and leave Monday, Sunday has been dry until 6pm. We have again had two storms of serious proportions, and anyone staying in Beauséjour would probably have been flooded out.

Count your chickens folks. Hope for better in August.

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August is usually very hot, the hottest in my time here 46C by day and 28C by night in 2003. I remember sleeping in the cellar on a camp bed for three weeks. But don't let that put you off because while warmer than June the average isn't that hot. Have a look here though:-

https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/france/le-mans-we...

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I wasn't trying to be specific. Look through history and the race has been run on different weekend depending on when the 24th weekend of the year falls. It was 18/19 June in 2016 for example. Anyway, it is still pissing down and another day, another thunderstorm. At least one a day for a week now.

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For me it was the Wednesday in 2008. I left home with a light drizzle falling, crossed the Mulsanne at Family Village towards the circuit and as I exited the shopping area everything changed. The ditches were overflowing, the field on the left was a lake, and under the Porsche curves there was about 30 cms of water. Up to the circuit entrance, and the old tunnel entrance on the right was 2 metres deep. Apparently the main entrance tunnel was up to the rail on the elevated walkway. Impossible to sign on, but apparently a substantial amount of soil and stones had been washed down in front of the pit exit.