Few mainland French towns get more rain than Saint-Alban: 1,610 mm a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −2.8°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 28°C. Frost is common: about 107 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in almost every mainland French town. Waterproofs come out on about 140 days a year, each with 1 mm of rain or more.
Figures from Météo-France’s Vieu station, 7.4 km east.
A year in Saint-Alban at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Vieu station.
What a year in Saint-Alban feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Vieu.
About 1,610 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and August the driest. About 56 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 3rd wettest of 60 towns of 2,500+ in Ain.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Amberieu
A frosty town: 107 frosts and 48 days of 25°C a year
On about 107 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 12 days it stays below freezing all day. About 48 days a year reach 25°C, and 10 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Vieu: 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 Vieu
Vieu is 7.4 km east of Saint-Alban. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Saint-Alban itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Vieu (01441001) |
| Distance from the town | 7.4 km east |
| Station altitude | 616 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 516 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Amberieu, 16 km away |
Saint-Alban sits 100 m lower than the station. Air usually warms by about 0.65°C every 100 m you go down, so expect Saint-Alban to run about 0.7°C warmer 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 Saint-Alban 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Alban | Vieu | 24.7°C | −2.8°C | 1,610 mm |
| Pont-d'Ain 9.4 km | Amberieu | 27.5°C 2.8°C warmer | −0.1°C 2.7°C milder | 1,118 mm |
| Ambronay 12 km | Amberieu | 27.5°C 2.8°C warmer | −0.1°C 2.7°C milder | 1,118 mm |
| Ceyzériat 14 km | Ceyzériat | 26.6°C 1.9°C warmer | 0.1°C 2.9°C milder | 1,033 mm |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 14 km | same station | 24.7°C about the same | −2.8°C about the same | 1,610 mm |
| Nantua 14 km | same station | 24.7°C about the same | −2.8°C about the same | 1,610 mm |
| Ambérieu-en-Bugey 17 km | Amberieu | 27.5°C 2.8°C warmer | −0.1°C 2.7°C milder | 1,118 mm |
Saint-Alban weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Vieu station; sunshine at Amberieu.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.5°C | −2.8°C | 1.4°C | 143 mm | 68 |
| February | 6.7°C | −3.0°C | 1.8°C | 122 mm | 98 |
| March | 10.9°C | −0.5°C | 5.2°C | 125 mm | 170 |
| April | 14.5°C | 2.1°C | 8.3°C | 126 mm | 194 |
| May | 18.5°C | 6.2°C | 12.3°C | 138 mm | 220 |
| June | 22.4°C | 9.5°C | 16.0°C | 115 mm | 252 |
| July | 24.7°C | 11.4°C | 18.1°C | 124 mm | 288 |
| August | 24.6°C | 11.2°C | 17.9°C | 106 mm | 261 |
| September | 20.0°C | 8.0°C | 14.0°C | 127 mm | 189 |
| October | 15.5°C | 5.4°C | 10.4°C | 153 mm | 122 |
| November | 9.6°C | 1.0°C | 5.3°C | 165 mm | 73 |
| December | 6.3°C | −1.8°C | 2.2°C | 166 mm | 55 |
| Year | 14.9°C | 3.9°C | 9.4°C | 1,610 mm | 1,989 |
Where Saint-Alban’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Vieu, 7.4 km away: statistics for 1991–2020.
- 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, Amberieu, 16 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 Saint-Alban’s climate
How warm does Saint-Alban get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24.7°C. About 48 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 71% of mainland French towns, and about 10 reach 30°C.
How cold does Saint-Alban get in winter?
February nights average −3.0°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 107 nights a year, and about 12 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Saint-Alban get?
About 1,610 mm a year, more than almost every mainland French town. December is the wettest month (166 mm) and August the driest (106 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Amberieu (16 km away), averages 1,989 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Saint-Alban itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Saint-Alban, Vieu, 7.4 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 VIEU, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Saint-Alban →
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.