Hardly any mainland French towns collect more rain than Ax-les-Thermes: 1,438 mm a year
Temperatures cover 24°C across the year, low to high. By frosts alone, it ranks colder than 86% of mainland French towns. Central heating does most of its work from November to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Figures from Météo-France’s Montferrier station, 20 km north.
A year in Ax-les-Thermes at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Montferrier station.
What a year in Ax-les-Thermes feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Montferrier.
About 1,438 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and August the driest. About 51 days a year bring 10 mm or more. The wettest of 11 towns of 2,500+ in Ariège.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Montaut
A frosty town: 65 frosts and 47 days of 25°C a year
On about 65 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 4 days it stays below freezing all day. About 47 days a year reach 25°C, and 8 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Montferrier: 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 Montferrier
Montferrier is 20 km north of Ax-les-Thermes. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Ax-les-Thermes itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Montferrier (09206001) |
| Distance from the town | 20 km north |
| Station altitude | 760 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 741 m |
| Period | 1992–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Nearest station of any kind | 4.1 km |
| Sunshine measured at | Montaut, 55 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 Ax-les-Thermes 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 Ariège.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ax-les-Thermes | Montferrier | 24.0°C | 0.0°C | 1,438 mm |
| Lavelanet 24 km | Les Cascades | 25.8°C 1.8°C warmer | 1.6°C 1.6°C milder | 1,102 mm |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 24 km | Les Cascades | 25.8°C 1.8°C warmer | 1.6°C 1.6°C milder | 1,102 mm |
Ax-les-Thermes weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Montferrier station; sunshine at Montaut.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.0°C | 0.0°C | 4.5°C | 140 mm | 100 |
| February | 9.4°C | 0.0°C | 4.7°C | 121 mm | 129 |
| March | 12.6°C | 2.2°C | 7.4°C | 107 mm | 170 |
| April | 14.8°C | 4.4°C | 9.6°C | 143 mm | 195 |
| May | 18.0°C | 7.9°C | 13.0°C | 140 mm | 210 |
| June | 21.7°C | 11.5°C | 16.6°C | 104 mm | 238 |
| July | 24.0°C | 13.4°C | 18.7°C | 95 mm | 260 |
| August | 24.2°C | 13.3°C | 18.8°C | 90 mm | 242 |
| September | 20.7°C | 10.3°C | 15.5°C | 110 mm | 212 |
| October | 17.4°C | 7.2°C | 12.3°C | 108 mm | 171 |
| November | 12.1°C | 2.9°C | 7.5°C | 153 mm | 119 |
| December | 9.7°C | 0.7°C | 5.2°C | 126 mm | 113 |
| Year | 16.1°C | 6.1°C | 11.2°C | 1,438 mm | 2,158 |
Where Ax-les-Thermes’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Montferrier, 20 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1992–2020, 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, Montaut, 55 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 Ariège.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Ax-les-Thermes’s climate
How warm does Ax-les-Thermes get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 24.2°C. About 47 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 73% of mainland French towns, and about 8 reach 30°C.
How cold does Ax-les-Thermes get in winter?
January nights average 0.0°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 65 nights a year, and about 4 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Ax-les-Thermes get?
About 1,438 mm a year, more than 98% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (153 mm) and August the driest (90 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Montaut (55 km away), averages 2,158 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Ax-les-Thermes itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Ax-les-Thermes, Montferrier, 20 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 MONTFERRIER, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Ax-les-Thermes →
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.