Photo: Micka13 · CC BY-SA 4.0Istres is among the driest of mainland French towns: 573 mm of rain a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near 3.4°C. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 27°C apart. Summer afternoons here are warmer than in 94% of mainland French towns. Expect about 17 frosty starts a year, nights when the air falls below freezing.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Istres station, 4.2 km west.
A year in Istres at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Istres station.
What a year in Istres feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Istres.
About 573 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and July the driest. About 17 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 80th wettest of 108 towns of 2,500+ in Bouches-du-Rhône.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Marignane
17 frosts and 116 days of 25°C a year
On about 17 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below; days that stay below freezing are rare. About 116 days a year reach 25°C, and 49 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Istres: 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 Istres
Istres is 4.2 km west of Istres. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Istres itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Istres (13047001) |
| Distance from the town | 4.2 km west |
| Station altitude | 23 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 23 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Marignane, 21 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 Istres 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 Bouches-du-Rhône.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istres | Istres | 30.7°C | 3.4°C | 573 mm |
| Saint-Chamas 6.2 km | same station | 30.7°C about the same | 3.4°C about the same | 573 mm |
| Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts 6.9 km | same station | 30.7°C about the same | 3.4°C about the same | 573 mm |
| Fos-sur-Mer 7.3 km | same station | 30.7°C about the same | 3.4°C about the same | 573 mm |
| Miramas 8.1 km | Salon-de-Provence | 30.7°C about the same | 1.8°C 1.6°C colder | 594 mm |
| Port-de-Bouc 11 km | same station | 30.7°C about the same | 3.4°C about the same | 573 mm |
| Grans 13 km | Salon-de-Provence | 30.7°C about the same | 1.8°C 1.6°C colder | 594 mm |
Istres weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Istres station; sunshine at Marignane.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.6°C | 3.4°C | 7.5°C | 56 mm | 148 |
| February | 12.7°C | 3.5°C | 8.1°C | 34 mm | 173 |
| March | 16.4°C | 6.2°C | 11.3°C | 32 mm | 235 |
| April | 19.1°C | 8.8°C | 14.0°C | 59 mm | 251 |
| May | 23.2°C | 12.6°C | 17.9°C | 43 mm | 299 |
| June | 27.8°C | 16.6°C | 22.2°C | 28 mm | 338 |
| July | 30.7°C | 19.2°C | 24.9°C | 13 mm | 372 |
| August | 30.4°C | 19.0°C | 24.7°C | 23 mm | 334 |
| September | 25.8°C | 15.4°C | 20.6°C | 80 mm | 264 |
| October | 21.0°C | 12.2°C | 16.6°C | 87 mm | 196 |
| November | 15.4°C | 7.4°C | 11.4°C | 76 mm | 151 |
| December | 12.1°C | 4.2°C | 8.2°C | 44 mm | 138 |
| Year | 20.5°C | 10.7°C | 15.6°C | 573 mm | 2,898 |
Where Istres’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Istres, 4.2 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, Marignane, 21 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 Bouches-du-Rhône.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Istres’s climate
How warm does Istres get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 30.7°C. About 116 days a year reach 25°C, more than 94% of mainland French towns, and about 49 reach 30°C.
How cold does Istres get in winter?
January nights average 3.4°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 17 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Istres get?
About 573 mm a year, less than 98% of mainland French towns. October is the wettest month (87 mm) and July the driest (13 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Marignane (21 km away), averages 2,898 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Istres itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Istres, Istres, 4.2 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 ISTRES, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Istres →
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.