Rhône-Alpes Weather and Climate

  • Rhône-Alpes is a region located in the south east of France. Its climate is renowned for being really variable. If summers are hot, they stay quite humid, winters are for their part quite cold due to the presence of mountains.
  • Situated close to the Alps but also to the Massif Central mountains, and not far from the Mediterranean Sea, Rhône-Alpes climate is a blend of multiple influences. Thus a certain warmth is coming over the land whilst in the mountains the weather is tougher with cold, long and snowy winters for the pleasure of skiing amateurs. Summers are pretty hot because of some Mediterranean influences.
  • Rhône-Alpes benefits from 1,976 sunshine hours a year. If this French region is quite sunny, it can also be dry in the south. This remains a quite damp region because of the presence of the mountains and also the Rhône River. There are bountiful rainfalls as well.
  • Thanks to the humidity and the different climates the vegetation is quite miscellaneous. You will find numerous regional and national parks like the Vercors park. The Rhône-Alpes region offers lush forests but also southerner plants.
  • As you notice in the average temperatures table below, the temperature is cold during the winter months. Besides there are mild spring and autumn months whilst summer is hot.

Rhône-Alpes Climate

Climate Type Continental and Mediterranean.
Average Temperature Summer: 19.6°c, Winter: 3.4°c.
Average sunshine 1,976 hours per year (Lyon).
Average rainfall Summer: 71.3 mm, Winter: 55.9 mm. Equivalent to 824.8 mm per year (Lyon).

Rhône-Alpes Weather Statistics

Month Average Temperature Precipitation (mm)
January 2.6° 54.1
February 4.5° 54.5
March 7.2° 62.9
April 10.3° 67.8
May 14.3° 86.0
June 17.9° 76.6
July 20.8° 60.6
August 20.0° 76.7
September 17.1° 75.2
October 12.5° 79.5
November 6.7° 71.4
December 3.2° 59.2

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