Frost comes to Essay more often than to 83% of mainland French towns
Météo-France’s La Fresnaye station, 12 km south: January nights average 1.6°C, July afternoons 24.5°C, and a year brings 770 mm of rain. Days of 25°C are scarce: about 42 a year, fewer than in 78% of mainland French towns.
A year in Essay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the La Fresnaye station.
What a year in Essay feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at La Fresnaye.
About 770 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and July the driest. About 22 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 13th wettest of 20 towns of 2,500+ in Orne.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Alençon
A frosty town: 62 frosts and 42 days of 25°C a year
On about 62 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 4 days it stays below freezing all day. About 42 days a year reach 25°C, and 9 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at La Fresnaye: 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 La Fresnaye
La Fresnaye is 12 km south of Essay. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Essay itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | La Fresnaye (72137006) |
| Distance from the town | 12 km south |
| Station altitude | 146 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 153 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Alençon, 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 Essay 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 Orne.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | La Fresnaye | 24.5°C | 1.6°C | 770 mm |
| Sées 9.1 km | Pin au Haras-Inrae | 23.6°C 0.9°C cooler | 1.2°C about the same | 756 mm |
| Alençon 17 km | Alençon | 24.3°C about the same | 2.1°C 0.5°C milder | 744 mm |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 19 km | Alençon | 24.3°C about the same | 2.1°C 0.5°C milder | 744 mm |
| Mortagne-au-Perche 23 km | Beaulieu | 24.3°C about the same | 1.2°C about the same | 837 mm |
| Mamers 23 km | same station | 24.5°C about the same | 1.6°C about the same | 770 mm |
| Gouffern en Auge 28 km | Argentan | 24.4°C about the same | 1.7°C about the same | 692 mm |
Essay weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the La Fresnaye station; sunshine at Alençon.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.4°C | 1.6°C | 4.5°C | 76 mm | 60 |
| February | 8.5°C | 1.1°C | 4.8°C | 59 mm | 89 |
| March | 11.9°C | 2.5°C | 7.2°C | 57 mm | 134 |
| April | 15.2°C | 4.0°C | 9.6°C | 54 mm | 174 |
| May | 18.6°C | 7.4°C | 13.0°C | 65 mm | 198 |
| June | 22.2°C | 10.4°C | 16.3°C | 57 mm | 215 |
| July | 24.5°C | 11.9°C | 18.2°C | 52 mm | 222 |
| August | 24.4°C | 11.7°C | 18.0°C | 53 mm | 214 |
| September | 20.9°C | 8.7°C | 14.8°C | 56 mm | 174 |
| October | 15.9°C | 7.0°C | 11.5°C | 75 mm | 112 |
| November | 11.0°C | 3.9°C | 7.4°C | 78 mm | 73 |
| December | 7.8°C | 1.8°C | 4.8°C | 89 mm | 63 |
| Year | 15.7°C | 6.0°C | 10.8°C | 770 mm | 1,727 |
Where Essay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for La Fresnaye, 12 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, Alençon, 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 Orne.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Essay’s climate
How warm does Essay get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24.5°C. About 42 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 78% of mainland French towns, and about 9 reach 30°C.
How cold does Essay get in winter?
February nights average 1.1°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 62 nights a year, and about 4 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Essay get?
About 770 mm a year, more than 53% of mainland French towns. December is the wettest month (89 mm) and July the driest (52 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Alençon (15 km away), averages 1,727 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Essay itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Essay, La Fresnaye, 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 LA FRESNAYE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Essay →
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.