Few mainland French towns get more frosts than Prades
A typical January night drops to −3.2°C and a July afternoon reaches 24.5°C; 1,259 mm of rain falls in a year. Rain is plentiful here, more than falls on 97% of mainland French towns. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 78% of mainland French towns. Figures from Météo-France’s Ascou Lavail station, 7 km south.
A year in Prades at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Ascou Lavail station.
What a year in Prades feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ascou Lavail.
About 1,259 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and July the driest. About 44 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: 132 frosts and 57 days of 25°C a year
On about 132 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 9 days it stays below freezing all day. About 57 days a year reach 25°C, and 14 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ascou Lavail: 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 Ascou Lavail
Ascou Lavail is 7 km south of Prades. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Prades itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Ascou Lavail (09023002) |
| Distance from the town | 7 km south |
| Station altitude | 1,090 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 1,254 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Montaut, 49 km away |
Prades sits 164 m higher than the station. Air usually cools by about 0.65°C every 100 m, so expect Prades to run about 1.1°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 Prades 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prades | Ascou Lavail | 24.5°C | −3.2°C | 1,259 mm |
| Lavelanet 16 km | Les Cascades | 25.8°C 1.3°C warmer | 1.6°C 4.8°C milder | 1,102 mm |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 23 km | Les Cascades | 25.8°C 1.3°C warmer | 1.6°C 4.8°C milder | 1,102 mm |
| Quillan 27 km | Granès | 27.7°C 3.2°C warmer | 2.0°C 5.2°C milder | 725 mm |
Prades weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Ascou Lavail station; sunshine at Montaut.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.3°C | −3.2°C | 2.0°C | 129 mm | 100 |
| February | 8.7°C | −3.2°C | 2.7°C | 103 mm | 129 |
| March | 12.4°C | −0.9°C | 5.8°C | 97 mm | 170 |
| April | 14.4°C | 1.2°C | 7.8°C | 127 mm | 195 |
| May | 18.2°C | 4.5°C | 11.3°C | 129 mm | 210 |
| June | 21.8°C | 8.0°C | 14.9°C | 98 mm | 238 |
| July | 24.5°C | 10.0°C | 17.3°C | 73 mm | 260 |
| August | 25.0°C | 10.0°C | 17.5°C | 74 mm | 242 |
| September | 21.0°C | 6.8°C | 13.9°C | 91 mm | 212 |
| October | 17.3°C | 4.0°C | 10.7°C | 89 mm | 171 |
| November | 11.3°C | −0.1°C | 5.6°C | 132 mm | 119 |
| December | 7.7°C | −2.3°C | 2.7°C | 117 mm | 113 |
| Year | 15.8°C | 2.9°C | 9.3°C | 1,259 mm | 2,158 |
Where Prades’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Ascou Lavail, 7 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, Montaut, 49 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 Prades’s climate
How warm does Prades get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.0°C. About 57 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 56% of mainland French towns, and about 14 reach 30°C.
How cold does Prades get in winter?
January nights average −3.2°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 132 nights a year, and about 9 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Prades get?
About 1,259 mm a year, more than 97% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (132 mm) and July the driest (73 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Montaut (49 km away), averages 2,158 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Prades itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Prades, Ascou Lavail, 7 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 ASCOU LAVAIL, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Prades →
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.