Hardly any mainland French towns wake to more frost than Bouvante
Midsummer highs settle at about 24.8°C. Of the 40 towns of 2,500+ in Drôme, it is the wettest. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 28°C. Radiators earn their keep from November to April, the months that average under 10°C.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Chapelle-en-Vercors station, 12 km east.
A year in Bouvante at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Chapelle-en-Vercors station.
What a year in Bouvante feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chapelle-en-Vercors.
About 1,326 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and July the driest. About 46 days a year bring 10 mm or more. The wettest of 40 towns of 2,500+ in Drôme.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs
A frosty town: 103 frosts and 44 days of 25°C a year
On about 103 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 14 days it stays below freezing all day. About 44 days a year reach 25°C, and 9 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chapelle-en-Vercors: 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 Chapelle-en-Vercors
Chapelle-en-Vercors is 12 km east of Bouvante. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Bouvante itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Chapelle-en-Vercors (26074001) |
| Distance from the town | 12 km east |
| Station altitude | 879 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 651 m |
| Period | 1994–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Nearest station of any kind | 6.4 km |
| Sunshine measured at | Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs, 46 km away |
Bouvante sits 228 m lower than the station. Air usually warms by about 0.65°C every 100 m you go down, so expect Bouvante to run about 1.5°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 Bouvante 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 Drôme.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouvante | Chapelle-en-Vercors | 24.8°C | −2.6°C | 1,326 mm |
| Saint-Jean-en-Royans 7.2 km | Saint-Jean-en-Roya | 28.5°C 3.7°C warmer | −0.1°C 2.5°C milder | 1,136 mm |
| Chatuzange-le-Goubet 16 km | Romans | 29.3°C 4.5°C warmer | 0.8°C 3.4°C milder | 877 mm |
| Bourg-de-Péage 19 km | Romans | 29.3°C 4.5°C warmer | 0.8°C 3.4°C milder | 877 mm |
| Montélier 20 km | Valence-Chabeui | 29.4°C 4.6°C warmer | 1.0°C 3.6°C milder | 874 mm |
| Romans-sur-Isère 20 km | Romans | 29.3°C 4.5°C warmer | 0.8°C 3.4°C milder | 877 mm |
| Alixan 21 km | Valence-Chabeui | 29.4°C 4.6°C warmer | 1.0°C 3.6°C milder | 874 mm |
Bouvante weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Chapelle-en-Vercors station; sunshine at Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.7°C | −2.6°C | 1.6°C | 108 mm | 91 |
| February | 6.5°C | −2.7°C | 1.9°C | 95 mm | 112 |
| March | 10.3°C | −0.3°C | 5.0°C | 103 mm | 173 |
| April | 13.7°C | 2.7°C | 8.2°C | 117 mm | 190 |
| May | 17.7°C | 6.4°C | 12.0°C | 132 mm | 221 |
| June | 22.0°C | 9.6°C | 15.8°C | 91 mm | 258 |
| July | 24.8°C | 11.5°C | 18.2°C | 90 mm | 292 |
| August | 24.4°C | 11.4°C | 17.9°C | 93 mm | 263 |
| September | 19.4°C | 8.1°C | 13.7°C | 120 mm | 199 |
| October | 15.6°C | 5.6°C | 10.6°C | 120 mm | 140 |
| November | 9.5°C | 1.2°C | 5.4°C | 147 mm | 91 |
| December | 6.2°C | −1.7°C | 2.3°C | 112 mm | 78 |
| Year | 14.7°C | 4.1°C | 9.4°C | 1,326 mm | 2,108 |
Where Bouvante’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Chapelle-en-Vercors, 12 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1994–2020, 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, Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs, 46 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 Drôme.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Bouvante’s climate
How warm does Bouvante get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24.8°C. About 44 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 75% of mainland French towns, and about 9 reach 30°C.
How cold does Bouvante get in winter?
February nights average −2.7°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 103 nights a year, and about 14 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Bouvante get?
About 1,326 mm a year, more than 98% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (147 mm) and July the driest (90 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs (46 km away), averages 2,108 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Bouvante itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Bouvante, Chapelle-en-Vercors, 12 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 CHAPELLE-EN-VERCORS_SAPC, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Bouvante →
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.