Photo: Mairie de Saint-Genest-Malifaux · CC BY-SA 4.0Hardly any mainland French towns wake to more frost than Saint-Genest-Malifaux
High summer brings afternoon highs near 23.2°C. The rainiest month is October; the driest is February. None of the 53 towns of 2,500+ in Loire gets more rain. Long walks are most pleasant from June to August, when afternoons reach 21–23°C.
Figures from Météo-France’s Tarentaise station, 6.5 km north-east.
A year in Saint-Genest-Malifaux at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Tarentaise station.
What a year in Saint-Genest-Malifaux feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Tarentaise.
About 1,128 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and February the driest. About 35 days a year bring 10 mm or more. The wettest of 53 towns of 2,500+ in Loire.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon
A frosty town: 108 frosts and 35 days of 25°C a year
On about 108 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 23 days it stays below freezing all day. About 35 days a year reach 25°C, and 5 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Tarentaise: 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 Tarentaise
Tarentaise is 6.5 km north-east of Saint-Genest-Malifaux. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Saint-Genest-Malifaux itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Tarentaise (42306001) |
| Distance from the town | 6.5 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 1,090 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 985 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon, 25 km away |
Saint-Genest-Malifaux sits 105 m lower than the station. Air usually warms by about 0.65°C every 100 m you go down, so expect Saint-Genest-Malifaux to run about 0.7°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 Saint-Genest-Malifaux 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 Loire.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Genest-Malifaux | Tarentaise | 23.2°C | −2.6°C | 1,128 mm |
| La Ricamarie 8 km | Saint-Didier-River | 25.5°C 2.3°C warmer | 0.5°C 3.1°C milder | 856 mm |
| Saint-Just-Malmont 8.6 km | Monistrol-sur-Loire | 24.5°C 1.3°C warmer | −0.8°C 1.8°C milder | 822 mm |
| Le Chambon-Feugerolles 9.3 km | Bas-en-Basset | 28.0°C 4.8°C warmer | −1.7°C 0.9°C milder | 754 mm |
| Saint-Étienne 11 km | Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon | 26.9°C 3.7°C warmer | 0.3°C 2.9°C milder | 728 mm |
| Firminy 12 km | Bas-en-Basset | 28.0°C 4.8°C warmer | −1.7°C 0.9°C milder | 754 mm |
| Bourg-Argental 12 km | Préaux Sa | 26.8°C 3.6°C warmer | 0.7°C 3.3°C milder | 870 mm |
Saint-Genest-Malifaux weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Tarentaise station; sunshine at Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.3°C | −2.6°C | 0.8°C | 76 mm | 81 |
| February | 5.0°C | −2.8°C | 1.1°C | 60 mm | 109 |
| March | 8.8°C | −0.4°C | 4.2°C | 65 mm | 162 |
| April | 12.1°C | 2.0°C | 7.1°C | 99 mm | 186 |
| May | 16.2°C | 5.8°C | 11.0°C | 122 mm | 214 |
| June | 20.6°C | 9.3°C | 15.0°C | 97 mm | 241 |
| July | 23.2°C | 11.1°C | 17.1°C | 94 mm | 275 |
| August | 23.1°C | 11.1°C | 17.1°C | 84 mm | 259 |
| September | 18.3°C | 7.9°C | 13.1°C | 103 mm | 193 |
| October | 13.7°C | 5.3°C | 9.5°C | 127 mm | 135 |
| November | 7.9°C | 1.0°C | 4.5°C | 126 mm | 88 |
| December | 5.0°C | −1.6°C | 1.7°C | 77 mm | 76 |
| Year | 13.2°C | 3.8°C | 8.5°C | 1,128 mm | 2,018 |
Where Saint-Genest-Malifaux’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Tarentaise, 6.5 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, Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon, 25 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 Loire.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Saint-Genest-Malifaux’s climate
How warm does Saint-Genest-Malifaux get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23.2°C. About 35 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 86% of mainland French towns, and about 5 reach 30°C.
How cold does Saint-Genest-Malifaux get in winter?
February nights average −2.8°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 108 nights a year, and about 23 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Saint-Genest-Malifaux get?
About 1,128 mm a year, more than 93% of mainland French towns. October is the wettest month (127 mm) and February the driest (60 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Saint-Étienne-Bouthéon (25 km away), averages 2,018 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Saint-Genest-Malifaux itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Saint-Genest-Malifaux, Tarentaise, 6.5 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 TARENTAISE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Saint-Genest-Malifaux →
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.