Hélette sits near the top of mainland French towns for rain, with 1,723 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near 4.6°C. Its January nights stay gentler than in 96% of mainland French towns. Wet weather is most frequent in November and least in August. Plan for rain on about 146 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
These are the figures of Météo-France’s Espelette station, 16 km west.
A year in Hélette at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Espelette station.
What a year in Hélette feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Espelette.
About 1,723 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and August the driest. About 58 days a year bring 10 mm or more. The wettest of 45 towns of 2,500+ in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Bustince - Saint-Jean
17 frosts and 81 days of 25°C a year
On about 17 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below; days that stay below freezing are rare. About 81 days a year reach 25°C, and 22 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Espelette: 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 Espelette
Espelette is 16 km west of Hélette. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Hélette itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Espelette (64213001) |
| Distance from the town | 16 km west |
| Station altitude | 97 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 242 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Bustince - Saint-Jean, 15 km away |
Hélette sits 145 m higher than the station. Air usually cools by about 0.65°C every 100 m, so expect Hélette to run about 0.9°C cooler 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 Hélette 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 Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hélette | Espelette | 25.8°C | 4.6°C | 1,723 mm |
| Hasparren 10 km | same station | 25.8°C about the same | 4.6°C about the same | 1,723 mm |
| Cambo-les-Bains 14 km | same station | 25.8°C about the same | 4.6°C about the same | 1,723 mm |
| Briscous 18 km | Saint-M Hinx Stna-Inrae | 26.2°C about the same | 3.3°C 1.3°C colder | 1,410 mm |
| Ustaritz 21 km | Biarritz-Pays-Basque | 24.2°C 1.6°C cooler | 5.0°C about the same | 1,474 mm |
| Urcuit 21 km | Saint-M Hinx Stna-Inrae | 26.2°C about the same | 3.3°C 1.3°C colder | 1,410 mm |
| Mouguerre 22 km | Biarritz-Pays-Basque | 24.2°C 1.6°C cooler | 5.0°C about the same | 1,474 mm |
Hélette weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Espelette station; sunshine at Bustince - Saint-Jean.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12.4°C | 4.6°C | 8.5°C | 169 mm | 90 |
| February | 13.3°C | 4.5°C | 8.9°C | 144 mm | 105 |
| March | 16.3°C | 6.4°C | 11.3°C | 136 mm | 139 |
| April | 18.1°C | 8.2°C | 13.1°C | 147 mm | 143 |
| May | 21.3°C | 11.1°C | 16.2°C | 144 mm | 162 |
| June | 24.0°C | 14.2°C | 19.1°C | 115 mm | 182 |
| July | 25.8°C | 16.1°C | 21.0°C | 98 mm | 195 |
| August | 26.5°C | 16.4°C | 21.4°C | 98 mm | 196 |
| September | 24.3°C | 13.7°C | 19.0°C | 131 mm | 182 |
| October | 20.8°C | 11.5°C | 16.1°C | 154 mm | 138 |
| November | 15.5°C | 7.4°C | 11.5°C | 217 mm | 98 |
| December | 13.1°C | 5.4°C | 9.2°C | 171 mm | 98 |
| Year | 19.3°C | 10.0°C | 14.6°C | 1,723 mm | 1,728 |
Where Hélette’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Espelette, 16 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, Bustince - Saint-Jean, 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 Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Hélette’s climate
How warm does Hélette get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 26.5°C. About 81 days a year reach 25°C, more than 72% of mainland French towns, and about 22 reach 30°C.
How cold does Hélette get in winter?
February nights average 4.5°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 17 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Hélette get?
About 1,723 mm a year, more than almost every mainland French town. November is the wettest month (217 mm) and August the driest (98 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Bustince - Saint-Jean (15 km away), averages 1,728 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Hélette itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Hélette, Espelette, 16 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 ESPELETTE, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Hélette →
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.