Few mainland French towns have colder winter nights than Vars
High summer brings afternoon highs near 22.0°C. Warm afternoons come less often than in 97% of mainland French towns. A year here swings 28°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Frost greets about 159 mornings a year, so leave time to clear the car.
Figures from Météo-France’s Ceillac station, 11 km north-east.
A year in Vars at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Ceillac station.
What a year in Vars feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ceillac.
About 791 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and February the driest. About 27 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 4th wettest of 7 towns of 2,500+ in Hautes-Alpes.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Embrun
A frosty town: 159 frosts and 15 days of 25°C a year
On about 159 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 21 days it stays below freezing all day. About 15 days a year reach 25°C, and under 1 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ceillac: 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 Ceillac
Ceillac is 11 km north-east of Vars. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Vars itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Ceillac (05026001) |
| Distance from the town | 11 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 1,665 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 1,676 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Embrun, 15 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 Vars 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 Hautes-Alpes.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vars | Ceillac | 22.0°C | −6.0°C | 791 mm |
| Embrun 16 km | Embrun | 27.8°C 5.8°C warmer | −2.4°C 3.6°C milder | 733 mm |
| Barcelonnette 23 km | Barcelonnette | 26.3°C 4.3°C warmer | −7.9°C 1.9°C colder | 694 mm |
Vars weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Ceillac station; sunshine at Embrun.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.5°C | −6.0°C | −1.2°C | 50 mm | 159 |
| February | 4.5°C | −6.2°C | −0.9°C | 39 mm | 175 |
| March | 7.8°C | −3.3°C | 2.2°C | 46 mm | 225 |
| April | 10.6°C | −0.5°C | 5.0°C | 65 mm | 210 |
| May | 14.8°C | 3.4°C | 9.1°C | 72 mm | 225 |
| June | 19.1°C | 6.9°C | 13.0°C | 83 mm | 265 |
| July | 22.0°C | 8.9°C | 15.5°C | 63 mm | 292 |
| August | 21.7°C | 8.9°C | 15.3°C | 63 mm | 271 |
| September | 17.0°C | 5.4°C | 11.2°C | 71 mm | 233 |
| October | 12.4°C | 2.2°C | 7.3°C | 93 mm | 187 |
| November | 6.9°C | −1.9°C | 2.5°C | 86 mm | 145 |
| December | 3.7°C | −4.9°C | −0.6°C | 61 mm | 142 |
| Year | 12.0°C | 1.1°C | 6.5°C | 791 mm | 2,530 |
Where Vars’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Ceillac, 11 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, Embrun, 15 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 Hautes-Alpes.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Vars’s climate
How warm does Vars get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22.0°C. About 15 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 97% of mainland French towns, and about under 1 reach 30°C.
How cold does Vars get in winter?
February nights average −6.2°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 159 nights a year, and about 21 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Vars get?
About 791 mm a year, more than 58% of mainland French towns. October is the wettest month (93 mm) and February the driest (39 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Embrun (15 km away), averages 2,530 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Vars itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Vars, Ceillac, 11 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 CEILLAC, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Vars →
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.