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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:

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
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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.