Few mainland French towns have colder winter nights than Chanay
Sunny July days climb to about 27.5°C. Seasons differ by 29°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Its yearly rainfall tops that of 96% of mainland French towns. Frost greets about 83 mornings a year, so leave time to clear the car.
Figures from Météo-France’s Bellegarde station, 9.3 km north.
A year in Chanay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Bellegarde station.
What a year in Chanay feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Bellegarde.
About 1,185 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and April the driest. About 42 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 10th wettest of 60 towns of 2,500+ in Ain.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Meythet
A frosty town: 83 frosts and 77 days of 25°C a year
On about 83 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 4 days it stays below freezing all day. About 77 days a year reach 25°C, and 26 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Bellegarde: a frost is a night of 0°C or below, a summer day (jour d’été) 25°C or more, a hot day (forte chaleur) 30°C or more.
The Météo-France station at Bellegarde
Bellegarde is 9.3 km north of Chanay. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Chanay itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Bellegarde (01033002) |
| Distance from the town | 9.3 km north |
| Station altitude | 350 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 495 m |
| Period | 1994–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Nearest station of any kind | 4.7 km |
| Sunshine measured at | Meythet, 25 km away |
Chanay sits 145 m higher than the station. Air usually cools by about 0.65°C every 100 m, so expect Chanay to run about 0.9°C cooler than these figures.
TownRatings matches each commune to one station with at least 24 years of temperature and rain records: the nearest, counting every 100 m of height difference as 10 km, never across the sea.
How Chanay compares
Against the 4,385 towns of 2,500 or more in mainland France, each read from its own matched station. The dots are the other towns of 2,500+ in Ain.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 2,500+ within 29 km. Where a neighbor uses the same station its figures are the same: the differences you’d feel over a few kilometers aren’t in the normals.
| Town | Station | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanay | Bellegarde | 27.5°C | −1.7°C | 1,185 mm |
| Valserhône 12 km | same station | 27.5°C about the same | −1.7°C about the same | 1,185 mm |
| Plateau d'Hauteville 15 km | Bénonces | 22.4°C 5.1°C cooler | −3.4°C 1.7°C colder | 1,724 mm |
| Vallières-sur-Fier 16 km | Bloye | 27.8°C about the same | −1.5°C about the same | 1,207 mm |
| Culoz-Béon 17 km | Bloye | 27.8°C about the same | −1.5°C about the same | 1,207 mm |
| Valleiry 18 km | Archamps | 26.4°C 1.1°C cooler | −1.0°C 0.7°C milder | 1,170 mm |
| La Balme-de-Sillingy 20 km | Meythet | 26.5°C 1°C cooler | −1.4°C about the same | 1,211 mm |
Chanay weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Bellegarde station; sunshine at Meythet.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.9°C | −1.7°C | 2.1°C | 116 mm | 88 |
| February | 8.3°C | −1.4°C | 3.4°C | 93 mm | 113 |
| March | 13.0°C | 1.1°C | 7.0°C | 89 mm | 174 |
| April | 17.1°C | 4.3°C | 10.7°C | 82 mm | 191 |
| May | 21.0°C | 8.4°C | 14.7°C | 94 mm | 220 |
| June | 25.2°C | 11.7°C | 18.5°C | 86 mm | 256 |
| July | 27.5°C | 13.4°C | 20.4°C | 87 mm | 274 |
| August | 26.9°C | 13.0°C | 20.0°C | 91 mm | 249 |
| September | 22.3°C | 9.7°C | 16.0°C | 87 mm | 195 |
| October | 17.2°C | 6.6°C | 11.9°C | 109 mm | 141 |
| November | 10.5°C | 2.1°C | 6.3°C | 119 mm | 91 |
| December | 6.2°C | −0.9°C | 2.7°C | 132 mm | 78 |
| Year | 16.8°C | 5.5°C | 11.1°C | 1,185 mm | 2,069 |
Where Chanay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Bellegarde, 9.3 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1994–2020, where its record is shorter).
- Which station: among stations with at least 24 of the 30 years of temperature and rain, the nearest to the commune’s population-weighted center, counting each 100 m of height difference as 10 km; mainland towns use mainland stations and each overseas département its own.
- Altitudes: the town’s from IGN’s RGE ALTI® at its population-weighted center; the station’s from Météo-France.
- Sunshine: the nearest station with at least 10 years of sunshine records, Meythet, 25 km away.
- Comparisons: every town of 2,500 or more in mainland France, read the same way; the dots are the towns of 2,500+ in Ain.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Chanay’s climate
How warm does Chanay get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27.5°C. About 77 days a year reach 25°C, more than 70% of mainland French towns, and about 26 reach 30°C.
How cold does Chanay get in winter?
January nights average −1.7°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 83 nights a year, and about 4 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Chanay get?
About 1,185 mm a year, more than 96% of mainland French towns. December is the wettest month (132 mm) and April the driest (82 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Meythet (25 km away), averages 2,069 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Chanay itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Chanay, Bellegarde, 9.3 km away. France publishes its climate normals by station, not by commune; a valley, a hill or the sea can make a difference over a few kilometers.
Where do these figures come from?
Météo-France’s fiches climatologiques: 30-year averages (1991–2020) for each of its long-running stations, published as open data since 2024. They are normals, not a forecast.
Source: Météo-France, fiches climatologiques, 1991–2020 statistics (station BELLEGARDE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Chanay →
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.