Climate - Mont St Michel (France)

Mont St Michel: Temperatures - Precipitation - Sunshine hours - Sea temperatures - Best time


In Mont Saint-Michel, a small island of Normandy and a Unesco World Heritage Site, the climate is oceanic, cool and wet most of the year.
The wind blows frequently throughout the year, and can be strong, especially from November to March.
The temperatures are similar to those of the coastal area of Normandy, since the island is located near the coast, but the presence of the sea creates a humid microclimate, a bit cooler during the day, especially in summer. Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation is not particularly abundant, given that it amounts to 750 millimeters (30 inches) per year, but it's frequent and well distributed over the seasons, with a relative minimum in spring and summer and a maximum in autumn and winter.
Here is the average precipitation.

Winter, from December to February, is quite cold: the average temperature in January is 6 °C (43 °F), but the air is humid, it often rains and the wind blows. When currents from the Atlantic Ocean prevail, the temperature can be milder, reaching 12/14 °C (53/57 °F), while cold air masses from Russia can lower the temperature to a few degrees below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F). In these situations of cold weather, even snowfall can occur.

Spring, from March to May, is very cool, and even a bit cold in March, then it becomes gradually milder with each passing week. However, there may be cold days still in April and early May. The rains are frequent, more or less like in the rest of the year, although they are less abundant in this season.

Summer, from June to August, is cool: the maximum temperatures only reach 20/21 °C (68/70 °F) in July and August. There is a fair amount of cloudy and rainy days, with highs below 20 °C (68 °F), alternating with warmer and sunny periods, when temperatures can reach or exceed 25 °C (77 °F). There may also be short, hot periods, perhaps of a day or two, in which the temperature can exceed 30 °C (86 °F).
Even in this season, it rains on average about 12/13 days per month.

Autumn, from September to November, is initially a pleasant season, then it gradually becomes more cold, cloudy and rainy.



The amount of sunshine in Mont Saint-Michel is scarce in late autumn and winter, when the sun is rarely seen, while from April to September, it is after all acceptable. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Being a bit cold even in summer, the sea is not recommended for swimming, especially for those who suffer from the cold, since it reaches 17 °C (63 °F) in July and September, and 18 °C (64 °F) August, as can be seen in the following table.

Best Time

The best time to visit Mont Saint-Michel is summer, from June to August or mid-September. It's better to bring a sweatshirt, a light jacket and umbrella, especially in June and September. July and August are the warmest months, but it should be remembered that being the high season, especially in August, there are many visitors.
When visiting Mont-Saint-Michel, it is useful to check the tide timetables: the strongest tides, and therefore the most spectacular ones, occur 36 to 48 hours after full moon and new moon, though it also depends on weather conditions. There are, however, specific timetables, showing the indicative forecast of the daily tides for the next months. When on the spot, you must pay attention to the rapid return of the tide, which can take by surprise those who may linger on the beach, where quicksand can also be found.