France - weather in August

In August, the last month of summer, the weather in France is quite cool and humid on the northern coast, while in Paris and the western coast it is warm. In the south, on the Mediterranean coast, the weather is usually hot and sunny.

As is usually the case in Europe, August in France is the hottest month of the year together with July. The average daily temperature is 17/18 °C (63/64 °F) on the north coast (Hauts-de-France, Normandy, Brittany), and 20 °C (68 °F) in Paris, while it reaches 24/25 °C (75/77 °F) in the south-east, on the Mediterranean coast (see Perpignan, Marseille, Nice).

Sometimes there can be heat waves, during which the temperature can exceed 35 °C (95 °F) in the inland areas. These heat waves are brought by hot air masses of African origin, which, however, reach with difficulty the northern coast, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel.

The rains are quite frequent on the coasts overlooking the Atlantic, even though we are in the least rainy period of the year. In the Alps, rainfall is more frequent and can be abundant, also due to the thunderstorms that can break out in the afternoon and evening. These thunderstorms can erupt, although more rarely, in the vast inland areas of France. In the southeast, on the Mediterranean coast, on the other hand, rainfall is very rare.

France is a fairly windy country. In the north, in Upper France, Brittany and Normandy, and more rarely in the south-west, on the Bay of Biscay, the wind can blow from the Atlantic, also in the form of a breeze when the weather is good.
In the south, in the Rhone Valley and on the coast, summer is the time of year when the mistral and tramontane, cold, dry winds that flow into the Mediterranean, are less frequent. However, in summer, when good weather prevails in this area, sea breezes regularly blow.

The sea is cold for swimming on the north coast (Normandy and Brittany), with a temperature of around 18 °C (64 °F), while on the west coast, the Atlantic is cool, but reaches 21 °C (70 °F) at La Rochelle and 22 °C (72 °F) at Biarritz.
In the south, the Mediterranean Sea is milder, from 22 °C (72 °F) in Montpellier and Marseille (where it is cooled by the mistral), to 24 °C (75 °F) in Nice (where it can be considered warm enough for swimming), to 25 °C (77 °F) in Corsica.

During the month, the length of the days gradually decreases. In August, the average day in France is 14 and a half hours long in the north and just under 14 hours in the south.

The following tables show the climate averages in the month of August in France in a selection of locations.

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Monthly climate averages - August

(from north to south)



















See also: France, the weather in July - September
The climate of France