Few mainland French towns have colder winter nights than Barcelonnette
Sunny July days climb to about 26.3°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 34°C. Rain is light here, less than falls on 70% of mainland French towns. Gritters and ice scrapers earn their keep on roughly 170 nights a year below 0°C.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Barcelonnette station, 1.8 km east.
A year in Barcelonnette at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Barcelonnette station.
What a year in Barcelonnette feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Barcelonnette.
About 694 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and February the driest. About 23 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 12th wettest of 15 towns of 2,500+ in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Embrun
A frosty town: 170 frosts and 66 days of 25°C a year
On about 170 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 5 days it stays below freezing all day. About 66 days a year reach 25°C, and 10 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Barcelonnette: 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 Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette is 1.8 km east of Barcelonnette. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Barcelonnette itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Barcelonnette (04019001) |
| Distance from the town | 1.8 km east |
| Station altitude | 1,155 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 1,133 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Embrun, 23 km away |
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 Barcelonnette 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 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 2,500+ within 29 km, each with its own matched station.
| Town | Station | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelonnette | Barcelonnette | 26.3°C | −7.9°C | 694 mm |
| Embrun 23 km | Embrun | 27.8°C 1.5°C warmer | −2.4°C 5.5°C milder | 733 mm |
Barcelonnette weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Barcelonnette station; sunshine at Embrun.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.2°C | −7.9°C | −0.8°C | 44 mm | 159 |
| February | 8.0°C | −7.3°C | 0.4°C | 33 mm | 175 |
| March | 12.3°C | −3.6°C | 4.3°C | 42 mm | 225 |
| April | 15.1°C | −0.3°C | 7.4°C | 60 mm | 210 |
| May | 19.3°C | 3.4°C | 11.4°C | 64 mm | 225 |
| June | 23.7°C | 6.5°C | 15.1°C | 57 mm | 265 |
| July | 26.3°C | 8.4°C | 17.4°C | 49 mm | 292 |
| August | 26.1°C | 8.0°C | 17.1°C | 49 mm | 271 |
| September | 21.4°C | 4.9°C | 13.1°C | 64 mm | 233 |
| October | 16.5°C | 1.4°C | 9.0°C | 85 mm | 187 |
| November | 10.2°C | −2.9°C | 3.7°C | 88 mm | 145 |
| December | 6.3°C | −6.7°C | −0.2°C | 60 mm | 142 |
| Year | 15.9°C | 0.3°C | 8.2°C | 694 mm | 2,530 |
Where Barcelonnette’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Barcelonnette, 1.8 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, Embrun, 23 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 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Barcelonnette’s climate
How warm does Barcelonnette get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 26.3°C. About 66 days a year reach 25°C, more than 56% of mainland French towns, and about 10 reach 30°C.
How cold does Barcelonnette get in winter?
January nights average −7.9°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 170 nights a year, and about 5 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Barcelonnette get?
About 694 mm a year, less than 70% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (88 mm) and February the driest (33 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Embrun (23 km away), averages 2,530 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Barcelonnette itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Barcelonnette, Barcelonnette, 1.8 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 BARCELONNETTE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Barcelonnette →
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.