Saône is wetter than 94% of mainland French towns: 1,157 mm of rain a year
Expect July afternoons of about 25.7°C. The rainiest month is October; the driest is February. Of the 34 towns of 2,500+ in Doubs, it has the mildest January nights. Central heating does most of its work from November to March, in months below 10°C on average.
Figures from Météo-France’s Besançon station, 10 km west.
A year in Saône at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Besançon station.
What a year in Saône feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Besançon.
About 1,157 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and February the driest. About 39 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 11th wettest of 34 towns of 2,500+ in Doubs.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Besançon
A frosty town: 58 frosts and 59 days of 25°C a year
On about 58 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 8 days it stays below freezing all day. About 59 days a year reach 25°C, and 15 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Besançon: 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 Besançon
Besançon is 10 km west of Saône. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Saône itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Besançon (25056001) |
| Distance from the town | 10 km west |
| Station altitude | 306 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 412 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | the same station |
Saône sits 106 m higher than the station. Air usually cools by about 0.65°C every 100 m, so expect Saône to run about 0.7°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 Saône 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 Doubs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saône | Besançon | 25.7°C | 0.1°C | 1,157 mm |
| Thise 7.3 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
| Besançon 8.1 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
| École-Valentin 11 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
| Miserey-Salines 13 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
| Ornans 13 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
| Les Auxons 15 km | same station | 25.7°C about the same | 0.1°C about the same | 1,157 mm |
Saône weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Besançon station.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.8°C | 0.1°C | 2.9°C | 90 mm | 68 |
| February | 7.6°C | 0.2°C | 3.9°C | 81 mm | 97 |
| March | 12.1°C | 3.0°C | 7.5°C | 85 mm | 153 |
| April | 16.1°C | 5.6°C | 10.8°C | 87 mm | 184 |
| May | 19.9°C | 9.4°C | 14.6°C | 108 mm | 208 |
| June | 23.6°C | 12.9°C | 18.2°C | 98 mm | 231 |
| July | 25.7°C | 14.7°C | 20.2°C | 89 mm | 249 |
| August | 25.5°C | 14.5°C | 20.0°C | 96 mm | 237 |
| September | 21.0°C | 11.1°C | 16.0°C | 101 mm | 184 |
| October | 16.1°C | 7.7°C | 11.9°C | 112 mm | 132 |
| November | 10.0°C | 3.5°C | 6.7°C | 107 mm | 75 |
| December | 6.4°C | 0.9°C | 3.7°C | 105 mm | 56 |
| Year | 15.8°C | 7.0°C | 11.4°C | 1,157 mm | 1,873 |
Where Saône’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Besançon, 10 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, Besançon, 10 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 Doubs.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Saône’s climate
How warm does Saône get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.7°C. About 59 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 54% of mainland French towns, and about 15 reach 30°C.
How cold does Saône get in winter?
January nights average 0.1°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 58 nights a year, and about 8 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Saône get?
About 1,157 mm a year, more than 94% of mainland French towns. October is the wettest month (112 mm) and February the driest (81 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Besançon (10 km away), averages 1,873 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Saône itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Saône, Besançon, 10 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 BESANCON, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Saône →
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.