Vaucluse is among the frostiest of mainland French towns
Météo-France’s Pierrefontaine station, 13 km west: a typical January night drops to −3.4°C and a July afternoon reaches 23.4°C; 1,377 mm of rain falls in a year. It is a wet place: more rain falls here than on 98% of mainland French towns. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 91% of mainland French towns.
A year in Vaucluse at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Pierrefontaine station.
What a year in Vaucluse feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Pierrefontaine.
About 1,377 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and February the driest. About 51 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 8th wettest of 34 towns of 2,500+ in Doubs.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Besançon
A frosty town: 119 frosts and 41 days of 25°C a year
On about 119 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 16 days it stays below freezing all day. About 41 days a year reach 25°C, and 8 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Pierrefontaine: 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 Pierrefontaine
Pierrefontaine is 13 km west of Vaucluse. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Vaucluse itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Pierrefontaine (25453001) |
| Distance from the town | 13 km west |
| Station altitude | 695 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 496 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Nearest station of any kind | 7.6 km |
| Sunshine measured at | Besançon, 53 km away |
Vaucluse sits 199 m lower than the station. Air usually warms by about 0.65°C every 100 m you go down, so expect Vaucluse to run about 1.3°C warmer 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 Vaucluse 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, each with its own matched station.
| Town | Station | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaucluse | Pierrefontaine | 23.4°C | −3.4°C | 1,377 mm |
| Maîche 8.4 km | Maîche | 22.0°C 1.4°C cooler | −4.3°C 0.9°C colder | 1,433 mm |
| Le Russey 11 km | Le Russey | 22.8°C 0.6°C cooler | −4.8°C 1.4°C colder | 1,667 mm |
| Charquemont 11 km | Charquemont | 23.1°C about the same | −3.8°C about the same | 1,575 mm |
| Pont-de-Roide-Vermondans 16 km | Joncherey | 26.4°C 3°C warmer | −1.6°C 1.8°C milder | 1,087 mm |
| Les Fins 21 km | Le Russey | 22.8°C 0.6°C cooler | −4.8°C 1.4°C colder | 1,667 mm |
| Villers-le-Lac 21 km | Épenoy | 22.6°C 0.8°C cooler | −1.8°C 1.6°C milder | 1,363 mm |
Vaucluse weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Pierrefontaine station; sunshine at Besançon.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.9°C | −3.4°C | 0.8°C | 109 mm | 68 |
| February | 5.8°C | −3.8°C | 1.0°C | 98 mm | 97 |
| March | 9.7°C | −0.7°C | 4.5°C | 100 mm | 153 |
| April | 13.7°C | 2.1°C | 7.9°C | 101 mm | 184 |
| May | 17.7°C | 6.2°C | 11.9°C | 128 mm | 208 |
| June | 21.6°C | 9.8°C | 15.7°C | 112 mm | 231 |
| July | 23.4°C | 11.4°C | 17.4°C | 113 mm | 249 |
| August | 23.5°C | 11.0°C | 17.3°C | 121 mm | 237 |
| September | 18.9°C | 7.4°C | 13.1°C | 105 mm | 184 |
| October | 14.7°C | 4.4°C | 9.5°C | 129 mm | 132 |
| November | 9.0°C | 0.1°C | 4.5°C | 126 mm | 75 |
| December | 5.6°C | −2.5°C | 1.5°C | 135 mm | 56 |
| Year | 14.0°C | 3.5°C | 8.8°C | 1,377 mm | 1,873 |
Where Vaucluse’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Pierrefontaine, 13 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, 53 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 Vaucluse’s climate
How warm does Vaucluse get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23.5°C. About 41 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 80% of mainland French towns, and about 8 reach 30°C.
How cold does Vaucluse get in winter?
February nights average −3.8°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 119 nights a year, and about 16 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Vaucluse get?
About 1,377 mm a year, more than 98% of mainland French towns. December is the wettest month (135 mm) and February the driest (98 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Besançon (53 km away), averages 1,873 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Vaucluse itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Vaucluse, Pierrefontaine, 13 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 PIERREFONTAINE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Vaucluse →
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.