Winter nights in Cours are colder than in 80% of mainland French towns
A typical January night drops to 0.5°C and a July afternoon reaches 25.4°C; 820 mm of rain falls in a year. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 66% of mainland French towns. Rain is plentiful here, more than falls on 64% of mainland French towns. Its July afternoons are the coolest among its 6 nearest neighbors. Figures from Météo-France’s Machézal station, 19 km south.
A year in Cours at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Machézal station.
What a year in Cours feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Machézal.
About 820 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and February the driest. About 23 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 45th wettest of 118 towns of 2,500+ in Rhône.
Rain by month
Millimeters
A frosty town: 56 frosts and 56 days of 25°C a year
On about 56 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 14 days it stays below freezing all day. About 56 days a year reach 25°C, and 16 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Machézal: 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 Machézal
Machézal is 19 km south of Cours. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Cours itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Machézal (42128001) |
| Distance from the town | 19 km south |
| Station altitude | 608 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 604 m |
| Period | 1995–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Nearest station of any kind | 10 km |
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 Cours 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 Rhône.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cours | Machézal | 25.4°C | 0.5°C | 820 mm |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 7 km | Fourneaux | 27.1°C 1.7°C warmer | 0.1°C about the same | 900 mm |
| Chauffailles 12 km | Briant | 26.0°C 0.6°C warmer | 0.6°C about the same | 931 mm |
| Charlieu 14 km | Charlieu | 27.1°C 1.7°C warmer | −0.1°C 0.6°C colder | 769 mm |
| Amplepuis 14 km | Fourneaux | 27.1°C 1.7°C warmer | 0.1°C about the same | 900 mm |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu 17 km | Charlieu | 27.1°C 1.7°C warmer | −0.1°C 0.6°C colder | 769 mm |
| Mably 20 km | Riorges - Man | 27.6°C 2.2°C warmer | 0.5°C about the same | 711 mm |
Cours weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Machézal station.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.0°C | 0.5°C | 3.2°C | 53 mm |
| February | 6.9°C | 0.4°C | 3.7°C | 44 mm |
| March | 11.2°C | 3.0°C | 7.1°C | 48 mm |
| April | 15.0°C | 5.7°C | 10.3°C | 66 mm |
| May | 19.0°C | 9.2°C | 14.1°C | 84 mm |
| June | 23.5°C | 12.8°C | 18.2°C | 71 mm |
| July | 25.4°C | 14.5°C | 20.0°C | 79 mm |
| August | 25.3°C | 14.7°C | 20.0°C | 82 mm |
| September | 20.8°C | 11.3°C | 16.1°C | 63 mm |
| October | 15.8°C | 8.5°C | 12.1°C | 80 mm |
| November | 9.8°C | 3.9°C | 6.9°C | 91 mm |
| December | 6.8°C | 1.3°C | 4.0°C | 60 mm |
| Year | 15.5°C | 7.2°C | 11.3°C | 820 mm |
Where Cours’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Machézal, 19 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1995–2020, where its record is shorter).
- 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.
- Comparisons: every town of 2,500 or more in mainland France, read the same way; the dots are the towns of 2,500+ in Rhône.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Cours’s climate
How warm does Cours get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.4°C. About 56 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 60% of mainland French towns, and about 16 reach 30°C.
How cold does Cours get in winter?
February nights average 0.4°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 56 nights a year, and about 14 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Cours get?
About 820 mm a year, more than 64% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (91 mm) and February the driest (44 mm).
Are these figures for Cours itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Cours, Machézal, 19 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 MACHEZAL, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Cours →
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.