France Weather: Everything You Need To Know

France Climate 

France is the largest country in Western Europe and the third-largest in entire Europe with varied geographical conditions. It has 3,427 km of coastline along the North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Alps in the southeastern part of the country makes climate conditions extreme in that part of France.

Due to its varied topography, France witnesses different types of climatic conditions which can be categorized in four different climate zones. Western France sees Oceanic climate due to the influence of the North Sea and Atlantic. Central, Northeastern and Eastern France receive Continental climate. South and South-Eastern parts of the country experience a Mediterranean climate, and there is an Alpine region that receives extreme Mountain or Alpine climate for half the year.

Temperature

Temperature varies across different places in France. The temperature difference is moderate in the western part of the country which sees mild winter and moderate summer. The southern part of western France (along the Atlantic) enjoys milder weather than the northern part (i.e. along the English Channel and the North Sea).

Bordeaux of the western part of France experiences the following temperatures… the highest temperature between January to March hovers around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius and the lowest remains at around 3 to 5 degrees, and the range is similar during November and December. April to October is warmer; whereas June and September see moderate summer, and July & August are the warmest months when the highest temperature is around 27 degrees. From April to October, you can see a difference of around10 degrees between day and night temperatures.

Now about the continental climate of northeastern and central France… we will look into typical Paris weather (refer to the chart of Paris below). In general, this region experiences comparatively cooler winters and warmer summers. The difference in lowest temperatures between winter and summer is about 13 degrees whereas the difference in highest temperatures is about 18 degrees.

January, February and December are the coolest months when the lowest temperature is around 3 degrees (at night), July & August see the highest temperature of around 25 degrees (during daytime). April, May, September and October are the most comfortable months. During this period the lowest temperature hovers around 7 to 13 degrees and the highest ranges between 16 to 21 degrees.

Mediterranean climatic zones experience much warmer temperatures than any other part of France (apart from Alpine areas). If we look into Marseille we will find temperature going up as high as 29 degrees Celsius (occasionally touching 30 degrees) and the lowest temperature of the year comes down to around 5 degrees. The winter season here is mild with the lowest temperatures hovering between 5 to 6 degrees and the highest temperatures between 13 to 16 degrees.

Summer is even warmer when the highest temperature hovers between 26 to 29 degrees and the lowest between 16 to 19 degrees. The blooming season spring and autumn are most comfortable but slightly warmer… the highest temperature is around 23 to 25 degrees and the lowest is not less than 9 degrees.

The alpine zone of France sees a rather extreme climate with mild to heavy snowfall keeping its temperature in and around zero degrees, sometimes dipping to sub-zero level. Summer here is much cooler, and spring and autumn too are chilly.

Sea Temperature

Since France has a long coastline, its sea temperature varies from place to place, especially between the west coast and the southern coast (refer to the chart showing sea temperature). In the west (La Rochelle) sea temperature remains at a comfortable level all through the year with a maximum difference of 10 degrees Celsius between winter and summer. March sees a minimum sea temperature of 8.5 degrees and August sees a maximum of 21.3.

During the first 3 months of the year, the temperature difference hovers around 2.5 to 3 degrees Celsius. During spring and autumn, the difference is around 4 to 5 degrees with the highest of 21.1 in September and the lowest of 10.2 degrees in April. Summer experiences much warmer sea temperatures with a high of 21.3 in August and the lowest of around 15.6 in June. The temperature difference in summer is around 3 to 5 degrees.

In the Mediterranean zone, the sea is much warmer than the Atlantic, English Channel and North Sea (See the chart of Marseille). The lowest sea temperature of Marseille is 12.1 in February and the highest is 25.9 in August. The sea temperature however differs between day and night (the difference is 1.6 to 7.9 degrees). The highest sea temperature during winter is 19.2 degrees (November), 20.2 in May (spring), 25.9 in August (summer) and 23.8 degrees in September (autumn). The sea temperature during January, February and March remains much cooler than the rest of the year.

Rainfall

France receives rainfall throughout the year though it varies between climatic zones.

The Oceanic climate region (Western part) of France receives relatively more rains than other parts of the country. Brittany, the town of the far west receives maximum rains in the country. Summers are relatively dry along the Atlantic coast than the northern part of coastal France. In the northern part, the average number of rainy days is 12 to 14 days per month during the first three months of the year with a rainfall average of 40 to 45 mm.

Along the Atlantic coast, the average rainfall is more than 80 mm per month for the first three months of the year with 15 to 16 rainy days per month. In the coastal north, April to June sees an average of 30 mm rainfall per month with 9 to 10 rainy days whereas the southwest coast receives around 65 mm of rain per month with 14 to 15 rainy days.

On the north coast, the second half of the year receives maximum rainfall of around 60 mm per month on an average with 13 to 14 rainy days per month, while the southwestern coast sees around 50 mm rainfall in July which gradually increases to 100 mm during December. Average rainy days are around 10 in July and 17 in December.

The driest month on the northwest coast is March and the dampest is October, while July is the driest and December is the dampest month on the southwest coast.

The continental region sees relatively moderate rainfall. In Paris, the yearly average rainfall is slightly more than 50 mm per month with 10 to 15 rainy days. The first four months of the year see a steady rainfall of 50 mm per month with 13 to 14 rainy days per month (see Paris weather chart). From May to August monthly average rainfall is relatively high but the number of rainy days is much less (10 to 12).

September to December is much damper than the rest of the year with an average precipitation of around 56 to 57 mm (raining for 11 to 15 days in a month). The driest months are February and April, whereas the dampest month is May with a monthly average of 65 mm rainfall.

Compared to the other two regions Mediterranean climatic zone is a bit drier with lesser rainfall and lesser rainy days. The first half of the year receives approximately 46 to 47 mm average rainfall with the highest in February (60 mm) and lowest in June (40 mm). The average monthly rainy days during this period is around 9 days with most rainy days in January and March (9-10 days) and minimum in April and June (7 days).

The latter half of the year receives more rainfall than the first half but the number of rainy days is lesser in the latter half. July being the driest month of the year receives around 20 mm of rainfall and 3 to 4 rainy days in a month. The wettest month of the year is October with around 90 mm of rainfall. It rains for about 10 days in December.

Humidity

Like other weather elements, the humidity too varies from place to place in France. In the Oceanic climatic zone, the coastal areas along the English Channel and the North Sea are more humid than the Atlantic coastal areas. Summers are lesser humid than winters in the entire west coast area.

The Northwest coast sees the highest humidity of around 90 to 95% in January and December. February, March, October and November see 82 to 90% humidity whereas summer experiences 82 to 85% humidity. On the Atlantic coast, November, December and January experience almost 90% humidity. February, March, September and October see approximately 80 to 85% humidity. Humidity is much lesser from April to August (slightly over 70%).

Paris sees around 90% humidity in winter and 70 to 75% during spring, 80 to 85% during autumn and 65 to 75% during summer.

Marseille in the Mediterranean climatic zone has similar humidity as Paris, although the highest humidity level is much lesser than Paris. With an annual humidity of 71%, Marseille sees higher humidity during winters. January sees 78% while the months of November and December witness 79%. February, March, September and October experience 71 to 76% humidity and higher in February and October. From April to August humidity hovers around 61 to 67%. The lowest humidity is in July.

Strasbourg located in the western part of France sees the highest humidity in December (85%) and the lowest in May (65%). Humidity varies from excess of 70% to under 80% between February to April. During summer it hovers slightly over 70% mark. Autumn sees 78 to 85% humidity.

Sunny Days

Mediterranean climatic zone enjoys brighter days throughout the year compared to other parts of France. The average yearly gross sunshine hours are 2,456 with a monthly average of 205 hours. The monthly averages are much lower during winter. In the Alpine area, sunshine averages are less than coastal places.

The southern part of the Oceanic climate region sees a yearly gross of 1,976 sunshine hours with a monthly average of 165 hours. The northern part of the Oceanic zone receives 1,694 hours of yearly sunshine with a monthly average of 141 hours. The central and northeastern part of France under the Continental climatic zone sees a total of 1,799 sunshine hours annually with a monthly average of around 150 hours. Summer always receives more sunny hours than winter.

Wind Speed

France has changing wind directions throughout the year. The average wind speed of Paris is given in the chart below. In January, February and December, strong wind flows from the southwest which gains a speed of 60 KPH but this strong wind does not last long. On average, the wind speed in Paris stays around 15 KPH for the first four months of the year and in the month of December. From May to November, the average speed remains moderate within 12 KPH.

The Atlantic coast of France experiences mild wind flow mainly during summer but during autumn and winter, the wind gains speed. The northern part of the west coast sees higher wind speed. The Mediterranean regions also face a bit higher wind speed at times and from all directions. In the southeast of France, the major wind flow that disrupts daily life is known as ‘Mistral’. It can flow for a day to a week with a speed of more than 60 KPH. France mainly witnesses Mistral during winter and spring.

Snowfall

Due to its continental climate, France witnesses snowfall in various parts of central and northeastern regions during winter. But normally snowfalls are mild to moderate. Paris receives snow from December to February with average snow days of 15 days per year. The eastern part of France receives more snowfall while the Alpine area sees extreme snowfall for almost half the year. The eastern part experiences annual snowfall of 20 to 30 days on average.

Paris Weather Chart

Sea Temperature Chart

West Coast (La Rochelle), Mediterranean Coast (Marseille)

Best Time to Visit France

June to September is the best time to visit Paris because of the pleasant temperature. Spring and later part of autumn are slightly cooler but enjoyable as well. With adequate woollens winter in Paris is not a bad time to visit either.

The western coast is great to visit throughout the year. During winter, the shores of the English Channel and the North Sea are cooler as well as foggier but you can comfortably visit the shore of the Atlantic during this time. Mediterranean region can be visited any time of the year. If you do not like warm weather then avoid summer and if rain annoys you then avoid a visit during October. The best time to visit western France is during summer.

Travel Tips

It is quite evident that it can rain in France anytime during the year. So carrying an umbrella or a raincoat would be a good idea. Hooded Jackets will be helpful especially during non-summer days to combat sudden gusts of winds.

Highlights for Weather in Paris.

• June to September is best with pleasant average temperatures
• July is the hottest month
• January is the coolest month
• May is the dampest month
• February is the driest month

Highlights of Western coastal regions

• Spring to autumn is the best time and usually has pleasant weather
• The sea temperature is highest during August
• March is the driest along the English Channel and the North Sea, July is the driest along the Atlantic
• October is the wettest on North West coast and December is the wettest along the Atlantic

Highlights of Mediterranean region

• Spring and autumn are the best time while summer is relatively hotter
• During August sea temperature is the highest
• The driest month is July
• October is the wettest month

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