| Climate
and the weather in France |
Bordered by four seas (the North Sea, the
Channel, the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean), by three mountain
ranges (the Alps, the Jura and the Pyrenees), and the edge of the
central European lowlands, France is a country with very diverse
climatic conditions, resulting in very different weather patterns. When
visiting France, it is often usful to consult the weather forecast! The
variety of France's weather patterns is further complicated by ongoing
climate change and global warming, which in recent years have lead to a
surprising number of unexpected and extreme weather conditions.
Like many places on Earth, France
has weather
conditions that are strongly influenced by barometric pressure: low
pressure tends to
leave France open to the influence of the Atlantic airstream, bringing
with it clouds and rain; but when a ridge of high pressure builds up
over the heart of western Europe, a large part of France, sometimes
even the whole country, can be protected from the prevailing westerlies
under a vast covering of dry air, often accompanied by winds from the
east.
In short, the weather in France is determined by the balance
of power between oceanic weather systems from the west, and continental
anticyclones from the east. It is the differing relative influence of
these
systems that determine the two main climate zones of France, and within
these two zones the different sub-zones.
These zones can bee seen in the map on the left.
In the western and
north-western half of France, stretching from the Belgian
border to the Pyrenees, the climate is generally oceanic, In
Atlantic and northern regions, the influence of Atlantic weather
systems is predominant;but further south and east, the
influence of Atlantic weather systems diminishes.
In practical terms, this means that these western
areas of France benefit from a mild climate, with moderate rainfall
possible at all times of the year. The "oceanic" area, and notably
Brittany, jutting out into the Atlantic, has a particularly mild
climate, but can be quite rainy even in summer months - though this is
not always the case by any means. The semi-oceanic area, also called
the intermediate area, has less rainfall particularly in
summer, as it is more often under the influence of continental
high-pressure systems. This band includes the great cereal growing
areas of France, Champagne, the Beauce (south of Paris) and the Midi
Toulousain, round Toulouse.
The eastern
side of France has a more continental climate, Apart from
the mountain areas, it is generally drier than western France, with
winters that are colder and summers that are hotter, for a given
latitude, The south coast of France benefits from a continental climate
moderated by the influence of the Mediteranean, generally drier than
the rest of France, and without the cold winters of the rest of the
continental climate zone.
The climate of eastern and
south-eastern France is particularly influenced by three famous winds, la Bise, le Mistral
and le Tramontain.
La Bise
is the dry east wind that can blow over from central Europe; in winter
it can be bitterly cold, in summer blisteringly hot. Blocked over
France by the Atlantic weather systems and by the Massif Central
mountains, la Bise is forced south and notably channeled down the Rhone
valley towards Provence, where it becomes le Mistral. Le
Mistral is thus a dry wind that can blow over central Provence for
weeks on end, and in winter can be surprisingly cold. The wind that
skirts round the Massif Central or blows over the top of it towards the
Mediterranean is known as Le
Tramontain.
The
microclimate of the Riviera: the extreme southeast of
France, the area around Cannes, Nice and Monaco, benefits from its own
microclimate; protected from the Mistral by the mass of the Alps, the
climate on this narrow coastal plain is pure Mediterranean, with mild
winters and warm summers.
The mountain areas of France;
like all mountain areas, France's mountain areas have a cooler climate
than surrounding areas, with more precipitation. Since the wet winds in
France are those that come from the west or to a lesser extent from the
south, it is the southern and western sides of the mountain ranges that
are wetter. This is particularly the case with the Massif Central,
whose eastern half is drier. The Cevennes mountains, the south eastern
part of the Massif Central, are generally quit dry, but can receive
deluges of heavy rain if wet air moves up from the Mediterranean, which
happens most often in the Spring or Autumn. The Pyrenees are an
exception to the general rule, as it is the French side of this range,
i.e the north eastern side, that is wetter than the Spanish side. This
is because moist oceanic air is pulled through southwest France from
the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. In all the mountain areas of France,
thunderstorms are a common feature in summer.
Moving
Boundaries:
With the exception of the areas of mountain climate, which are
determined largely by altitude and topography, the borderlines betwen
the different climate zones of France are variable, and will move north
and south, east and west, depending on the strength of conflicting
weather systems. It is quite possible for the whole of France to come
under the influence of the prevailing Atlantic westerlies, with their
clouds and showers; conversely, though less often, the whole of France
can be dominated by continental air masses, leaving hardly a cloud in
the sky over the whole country.
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