Hardly any mainland French towns wake to more frost than Espaly-Saint-Marcel
In July the day’s top temperature is typically 26.2°C. Seasons differ by 28°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. By rainfall alone, it ranks drier than 89% of mainland French towns. An umbrella earns its place on about 88 days a year with 1 mm of rain or more.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Le Puy-Chadrac station, 2.4 km east.
A year in Espaly-Saint-Marcel at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Le Puy-Chadrac station.
What a year in Espaly-Saint-Marcel feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Le Puy-Chadrac.
About 632 mm of rain a year
May is the wettest month and February the driest. About 18 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 15th wettest of 24 towns of 2,500+ in Haute-Loire.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Le Puy-Loudes
A frosty town: 84 frosts and 62 days of 25°C a year
On about 84 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 10 days it stays below freezing all day. About 62 days a year reach 25°C, and 19 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Le Puy-Chadrac: 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 Le Puy-Chadrac
Le Puy-Chadrac is 2.4 km east of Espaly-Saint-Marcel. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Espaly-Saint-Marcel itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Le Puy-Chadrac (43046001) |
| Distance from the town | 2.4 km east |
| Station altitude | 714 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 642 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Le Puy-Loudes, 8.5 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 Espaly-Saint-Marcel 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 Haute-Loire.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel | Le Puy-Chadrac | 26.2°C | −1.3°C | 632 mm |
| Le Puy-en-Velay 2 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
| Vals-près-le-Puy 2.1 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
| Polignac 2.8 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
| Chadrac 3.1 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
| Brives-Charensac 4.6 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
| Coubon 6.3 km | same station | 26.2°C about the same | −1.3°C about the same | 632 mm |
Espaly-Saint-Marcel weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Le Puy-Chadrac station; sunshine at Le Puy-Loudes.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.0°C | −1.3°C | 2.4°C | 34 mm | 89 |
| February | 7.7°C | −1.4°C | 3.2°C | 22 mm | 112 |
| March | 11.8°C | 1.0°C | 6.4°C | 27 mm | 168 |
| April | 14.7°C | 3.5°C | 9.1°C | 54 mm | 171 |
| May | 19.0°C | 7.2°C | 13.1°C | 76 mm | 195 |
| June | 23.3°C | 10.6°C | 16.9°C | 71 mm | 225 |
| July | 26.2°C | 12.4°C | 19.3°C | 57 mm | 264 |
| August | 26.1°C | 12.0°C | 19.1°C | 64 mm | 245 |
| September | 21.1°C | 8.7°C | 14.9°C | 66 mm | 185 |
| October | 16.1°C | 6.5°C | 11.3°C | 66 mm | 128 |
| November | 10.0°C | 2.3°C | 6.2°C | 63 mm | 88 |
| December | 6.6°C | −0.4°C | 3.1°C | 32 mm | 83 |
| Year | 15.7°C | 5.1°C | 10.4°C | 632 mm | 1,952 |
Where Espaly-Saint-Marcel’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Le Puy-Chadrac, 2.4 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, Le Puy-Loudes, 8.5 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 Haute-Loire.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Espaly-Saint-Marcel’s climate
How warm does Espaly-Saint-Marcel get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 26.2°C. About 62 days a year reach 25°C, more than 51% of mainland French towns, and about 19 reach 30°C.
How cold does Espaly-Saint-Marcel get in winter?
February nights average −1.4°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 84 nights a year, and about 10 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Espaly-Saint-Marcel get?
About 632 mm a year, less than 89% of mainland French towns. May is the wettest month (76 mm) and February the driest (22 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Le Puy-Loudes (8.5 km away), averages 1,952 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Espaly-Saint-Marcel itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Espaly-Saint-Marcel, Le Puy-Chadrac, 2.4 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 LE PUY-CHADRAC, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Espaly-Saint-Marcel →
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.