Arches sits near the top of mainland French towns for rain, with 1,173 mm a year
Sunny July days climb to about 24.8°C. Wet weather is most frequent in November and least in August. Frosty nights outnumber those of 93% of mainland French towns. Gritters and ice scrapers earn their keep on roughly 75 nights a year below 0°C.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Neuvic station, 9.1 km north.
A year in Arches at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Neuvic station.
What a year in Arches feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Neuvic.
About 1,173 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and August the driest. About 41 days a year bring 10 mm or more. The wettest of 5 towns of 2,500+ in Cantal.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Marcenat
A frosty town: 75 frosts and 52 days of 25°C a year
On about 75 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 5 days it stays below freezing all day. About 52 days a year reach 25°C, and 12 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Neuvic: 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 Neuvic
Neuvic is 9.1 km north of Arches. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Arches itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Neuvic (19148001) |
| Distance from the town | 9.1 km north |
| Station altitude | 615 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 582 m |
| Period | 1993–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Sunshine measured at | Marcenat, 40 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 Arches 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 Cantal.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 2,500+ within 29 km, each with its own matched station.
Arches weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Neuvic station; sunshine at Marcenat.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.9°C | −0.5°C | 3.2°C | 100 mm | 107 |
| February | 8.1°C | −0.8°C | 3.6°C | 86 mm | 131 |
| March | 12.1°C | 1.5°C | 6.8°C | 90 mm | 165 |
| April | 14.9°C | 3.8°C | 9.4°C | 112 mm | 170 |
| May | 18.8°C | 7.3°C | 13.0°C | 105 mm | 188 |
| June | 22.7°C | 10.8°C | 16.8°C | 89 mm | 230 |
| July | 24.8°C | 12.5°C | 18.6°C | 78 mm | 250 |
| August | 24.6°C | 12.3°C | 18.5°C | 75 mm | 219 |
| September | 20.6°C | 9.0°C | 14.8°C | 97 mm | 188 |
| October | 16.6°C | 6.5°C | 11.6°C | 105 mm | 148 |
| November | 10.7°C | 2.5°C | 6.6°C | 119 mm | 102 |
| December | 7.8°C | 0.1°C | 4.0°C | 118 mm | 100 |
| Year | 15.7°C | 5.4°C | 10.6°C | 1,173 mm | 1,997 |
Where Arches’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Neuvic, 9.1 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1993–2020, 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, Marcenat, 40 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 Cantal.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Arches’s climate
How warm does Arches get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24.8°C. About 52 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 65% of mainland French towns, and about 12 reach 30°C.
How cold does Arches get in winter?
February nights average −0.8°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 75 nights a year, and about 5 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Arches get?
About 1,173 mm a year, more than 96% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (119 mm) and August the driest (75 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Marcenat (40 km away), averages 1,997 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Arches itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Arches, Neuvic, 9.1 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 NEUVIC, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Arches →
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.