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The climate of France
According to the Köppen system France has three different climates. The greater part of the country has a moderate sea-climate (type Cfb) with relatively mild winters, no extremely hot summers and precipitation during the entire year. The French Alps, situated in the south-east, have a high mountain climate (type EH). This climate is characterized by relatively much precipitation, colder winters and relatively cool summers. Along the south-east coast, stretching from the border with Spain to the border with Italy, prevails a Mediterranean climate (type Csa) Warm dry summers and relatively mild winters is what you find here. The eastern part of this coastal area, the Cote d’Azur, is the sunniest part of France. Most of the time the comparison is made to this very sunny area to denounce how sunny other parts of the area are.

 

Climate information of places and areas in France
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific information about weather and climate can be found on the climate pages per area or town. As for France the following climate information is available:

Ajaccio
Alpe d'Huez
Alsace
Antibes
Aquitaine
Ardèche
Argeles sur Mer
Avignon
Bastia
Bergerac
Biarritz
Bonifacio
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Brest
Brittany
Calais
Calvi
Camargue
Cannes
Cap d'Agde
Carcassonne
Centre France
Cevennes
Clermont-Ferrand
Corsica
Cote d'Azur
Dijon
Disneyland Paris
Dordogne
French Alps, the
Fréjus
Jura Mountains
Languedoc-Roussillon
La Grande Motte
La Plagne
Le Havre
Le Touquet
Les Deux Alpes
Les Menuires
Lille
Limoges
Limousin
Lot-et-Garonne
Lourdes
Lyon
Marseille
Massif Central
Metz
Monaco
Montpellier
Nancy
Nantes
Nice
Normandy
Orleans
Paradiski
Paris
Perpignan
Poitou-Charentes
Provence
Quimper
Reims
Rhône
Saint Malo
Saint Raphael

Saint Tropez
Sainte Maxime
Strassburg
Tarn-et-Garonne
Tignes
Toulon
Toulouse
Tours
Val d'Isere
Val Thorens
Vosges, the

overseas departments & territories of France:
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Mayotte
Réunion
Saint-Barthélemy
Saint-Martin
Saint-Pierre en Miquelon

Agreeable summers
It is not by coincidence that France is a very popular holiday destination. In many places it is practically guaranteed that the weather is very agreeable during the summer period with sometimes very warm days and sultry summer nights practically every day. The sensation of France is mainly aroused by these circumstances and all the fragrances and colors that nature offers. It is mainly in this splendid period that living as a god in France is realized.

Extremes
France is a country of extremes. In a country of average size the variety in weather conditions and temperature can be considerably large in a fairly small area. Whereas in the south-east spring-like temperatures of twenty degrees Celsius are reached it can easily freeze considerably at night 200 kilometers northward.
Also in the summer months substantial differences in temperature can be measured. At moments when in the vicinity of Bordeaux temperature can raise to around forty degrees or more, it can be 20 degrees colder in the north-west at the same time.

Winter sport
The French Alps are a very popular winter sport resort. Beautiful skislopes and snow practically guaranteed in the period of September up till May provide ideal skiing conditions. According to votaries the finest period to go skiing there is the late spring from about the end of March till the beginning of May when the skislopes close. Then the snow is often still of good quality, while the vernal sun is getting very agreeable by then. Less popular among the Dutch but surely a good winter sport destination are the French Pyrenees. Other areas where you can tie on the laths, but which are less sure as for the snow, are the Vosges, the Jura and the Central Massive.

 

Climate figures
The figures below are based on registered long-term meteorological information and can, as far as possible, be considered an average for France. The largest deviations are: more precipitation in the east and the higher situated areas (Alpes, Vosges, Central Massive, Jura and Pyrenees); more sun in the south, higher temperatures in the south (particularly along the coast); higher UV index in the south, much greater chance on wintry weather in higher situated areas. The sea temperatures reflected here are for the north-west (first figure) and the south-east (second figure). These are the two most extreme values of the seawater temperatures.

average
 maximum
temperature (°C)

average
minimum

temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine

per
day
average days with precipitation
per month
average
mm
precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January 7 1 2 16 8-13
February 9 2 3 14 7-13
March 12 3 4 15 8-13
April 15 6 7 14 9-14
May 18 9 8 12 11-16
June 22 12 10 10 13-19
July 27 15 9 8 16-22
August 26 14 8 9 17-23
September 23 12 6 11 17-21
October 17 9 4 12 15-19
November 11 5 3 13 13-16
December 8 3 2 15 10-14
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm
= 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather, extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we monthly offer useful extra climate information. The information below goes for all but entire France ( the areas above 400 meters are left out of consideration). Hence the chance of (very) hot weather and of wintry weather is often greater than applicable to a particular area.
The UV index is an average of the whole of France. The UV index is somewhat lower for the north of France and somewhat higher for the south. For the higher situated areas goes: less chance of sun and very hot weather, considerably more chance of wintry weather.
 

chance of
(very) hot

weather

chance of
(very) cool
weather
chance of
long-term

precipitation
chance of
hurricanes
(cyclones)
chance of
sunny days

UV-index

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

 

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.

 

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