Weather in Paris France. Rainy season
Weather in Paris France today
Weather in Paris France
The weather is generally mild. There is no Siberian cold nor Arabian heat in the city. Winters tend to be milder than in the past. It rarely snows. As the city is not very far from the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches of Normandy, the weather is unstable and unpredictable. You can never be sure of the weather in advance. Never mind. The city has so much to offer indoor, including many shopping, museums and monuments, that you will manage your time on rainy days.
Paris rainy season
Most months have moderate rains on average. There is not really a rainy season in the city as in many countries. Most heavy rains occur in December and January, resulting in significant floods. But, rain is quite unpredictable. May and June 2016 were incredibly wet with significant flooding of the quays. May and June 2019 were quite different as we had almost no rain at all. There was almost no rain in summer 2022, a first since 1976. 900.9 millimeters of rain fell on the capital in 2024, a tenth more than the previous record dating from 2000. Rain is unpredictable. The blue rectangles in the chart below are amount of rain per month.
Paris weather by month
Best seasons in Paris
The summer is warm and sunny, sometimes hot. In a big city, summer may not be the most pleasant season. Check temperatures in degree fahrenheit on the chart. It may rain heavily during the summer. The fall has sunny and glorious days with the best light. We love September, the best month. Winter is cold in January and February, although it can sometimes be surprisingly mild. It very rarely snows and the snow does not stay long. Spring is beautiful, when it does not rain too much, which can happen. Parks are gorgeous.
Flowers are best in May, June and September
Warmest month in Paris
July and August are the warmest months in Paris. The coldest month is January.
Stay in top Paris hotel
Champs-Elysées hotel
Hôtel Barrière Fouquet's is the only hotel overlooking the Champs-Elysées. This 5-star hotel features a spa with a swimming pool and sauna, 3 bars and 2 restaurants, including the historic Fouquet's brasserie. All rooms have been decorated by top designers. Most rooms offer views of the Champs-Élysées, Avenue George-V or the hotel's interior garden. Champs-Elysées hotels.
Paris 75008 France
Hotel Barriere overlooks Champs-Elysées
Paris weather detailed facts
Weather
Although its latitude (48°52'0"N) is roughly the same as Vancouver or the Island of Newfoundland in Canada, Paris benefits from a temperate weather as a result of its location in Western Europe and the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Nestled in the Paris Basin, situated midway between an oceanic climate to the west and a semi-continental weather to the east, it enjoys mild winters and relatively clement summers.
Temperatures
The average temperatures in Paris generally range between 5°C (41°F) during winter and 20°C (68°F) in summer. July is the hottest month of the year, and January is the coldest. As a rule, it is slightly warmer in Paris than in the suburbs. The effects of urbanisation result in significant differences of weather between the city's center and the outskirts, regularly recording one or two degrees higher at Paris Montsouris1 or at the Tour Saint-Jacques, as compared to Paris Le Bourget Airport which is 9 km outside the city.
Rainy season
Spring, from March to May, is the driest season. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the other seasons. Average annual precipitation is 607-641 mm (24-25 inches). The most rainfall recorded in a single day was on 24 August 1987: 95.7 mm (3.77 in).
Paris is known for its frequent showers, which tend to pass just as quickly as they arrive. It is not unusual to witness bright sunshine one moment, then a quick shower followed by a return to sunshine — all within the course of a few minutes' time. For instance, there are about 171 days a year with precipitation of over 0.1 mm (0.004 in.), yet only 16 days with more than 10 mm (0.4 in.). Thus, it is practical to carry a small umbrella with you in all seasons.
Thanks to its temperate weather, however, snowfall is somewhat of a rarity in Paris. Although there is at least a dusting of snow about 15 days a year, most accumulation generally disappears within 24 hours. The highest snowfall ever recorded in one day was 40 cm (15.75 in) on 2 March 1946.
Winds
The windiest months in Paris are generally from November through January, averaging 21-23 km/hr. (13-14 mph). During the rest of the year, the city enjoys pleasant breezes of 15-18 km/h (9-11 mph). When extreme storms battered much of western Europe on 27 December 1999, the Paris region suffered a loss of tens of thousands of trees and extensive property damage, with wind gusts reaching 169 km/h (105 mph).
Snow in Paris
Snow was back in January 2024. But, it very rarely snows in the city as the winter weather is mild and the snow quickly melts away. But, the city parks and gardens are incredibly beautiful and quiet after a snowfall. If it snowed during the night, go out and take pictures.
There was more snow in the past. It snowed everyday from 26 to 31 October 1869. In December 1879, the coldest month ever with December 1788, the streets were cluttered with a thickness of 30 to 40 cm. This snow was thrown into the frozen Seine and accumulated to form huge blocks of ice. This lead to a terrible debacle in early January.
Snow in Paris in 1930
Floods in Paris
December and January are sometimes very rainy and the lower quays are then flooded. The 1910 flood was the largest known surge of the Seine in Paris after the 1658 flood. It touched most of its valley and caused significant damage to the regional economy in and around the city.
The Seine reached its maximum level of 8.62 meters at the Austerlitz bridge on January 28th. The flood affected 12 arrondissements of the capital and many other towns along the river for several weeks. The rise of the waters occurred in about ten days, and the decrease in 35 days approximately.
The tributaries and confluents of the Seine knew the same fate to different degrees, due to the interdependence of the different hydrological systems. Some suburban cities suffered significant damage. During the flood, the deputies went to the National Assembly by boat. The Zouave bridge Alma, on which the Parisians are used to measure the height of the floods of the Seine, had water to the shoulders.
Seine river flood in 1910