A series of progressively violent storms has finally broken out of the Atlantic, leaving hundreds of thousands without power in parts of France and causing damage in Spain.

Intense circulations, prompted by the jetstream high in the atmosphere, have whipped up the waves, battering the coasts of Portugal, northern Spain and France.

Meteo France on Saturday reported wind speeds of up to 148 kilometres an hour on the coast and warned that in some places they could reach 160km/h.

Even in the Mediterranean island of Corsica, across the northern cape, gusts were registered at 155km/h on Saturday night.

The stormy conditions brought down electricity supply lines in southwest France, leaving more than 250,000 homes without power.

Before dawn on Sunday, the wind increased again in Asturias, northwest Spain, with gusts of 143km/h. Santander, further along the coast, also felt the storm coming with winds up to 104km/h.