Sighting in Évreux, May 19, 2013

Around half past midnight, several people standing on a first-floor balcony watched six to eight yellow-orange glowing balls pass by in complete silence. The lights came up from the horizon and headed south. The witness, who was facing north, first noticed them in the northwest and then followed them as they moved away toward the south.

The Meteociel record for Rouen showed cloudy skies and a northeasterly wind, following rain carried on a northerly wind.

The GEIPAN found the account fully consistent with the sighting of Thai lanterns: the appearance, the duration, the drift with the wind, and the time and day of the week all fit the end of a celebration. The slightly rainy weather was not favorable to flying lanterns, but they can still fly under a few drops of rain. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.