Few mainland French towns have cooler summers than Val-Cenis
Deep winter brings January lows near −9.3°C. Its January nights bite harder than in almost every mainland French town. Wet weather is most frequent in August and least in April. An umbrella earns its place on about 127 days a year with 1 mm of rain or more.
Figures from Météo-France’s Tignes station, 22 km north.
A year in Val-Cenis at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Tignes station.
What a year in Val-Cenis feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Tignes.
About 1,037 mm of rain a year
August is the wettest month and April the driest. About 35 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 29th wettest of 37 towns of 2,500+ in Savoie.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Bourg-Saint-Maurice
A frosty town: 199 frosts and under 1 days of 25°C a year
On about 199 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 69 days it stays below freezing all day. About under 1 days a year reach 25°C, and 0 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Tignes: 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 Tignes
Tignes is 22 km north of Val-Cenis. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Val-Cenis itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Tignes (73296005) |
| Distance from the town | 22 km north |
| Station altitude | 2,084 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 2,096 m |
| Period | 1992–2020 (the station’s own record) |
| Nearest station of any kind | 4.8 km |
| Sunshine measured at | Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 39 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 Val-Cenis 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 Savoie.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val-Cenis | Tignes | 16.4°C | −9.3°C | 1,037 mm |
| Modane 18 km | Avrieux | 24.5°C 8.1°C warmer | −4.7°C 4.6°C milder | 600 mm |
Val-Cenis weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Tignes station; sunshine at Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.2°C | −9.3°C | −5.3°C | 92 mm | 110 |
| February | −0.3°C | −9.9°C | −5.1°C | 65 mm | 122 |
| March | 3.0°C | −7.0°C | −2.0°C | 74 mm | 170 |
| April | 5.4°C | −3.5°C | 1.0°C | 61 mm | 176 |
| May | 9.4°C | 1.1°C | 5.2°C | 104 mm | 200 |
| June | 14.1°C | 4.9°C | 9.5°C | 102 mm | 226 |
| July | 16.4°C | 6.6°C | 11.5°C | 100 mm | 249 |
| August | 16.3°C | 6.7°C | 11.5°C | 105 mm | 232 |
| September | 12.3°C | 3.4°C | 7.9°C | 72 mm | 189 |
| October | 9.0°C | 0.5°C | 4.7°C | 85 mm | 143 |
| November | 2.9°C | −4.6°C | −0.8°C | 77 mm | 99 |
| December | −0.3°C | −8.2°C | −4.2°C | 98 mm | 94 |
| Year | 7.3°C | −1.6°C | 2.8°C | 1,037 mm | 2,009 |
Where Val-Cenis’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Tignes, 22 km away: statistics for 1991–2020 (the station’s own years, 1992–2020, 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.
- Sunshine: the nearest station with at least 10 years of sunshine records, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 39 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 Savoie.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Val-Cenis’s climate
How warm does Val-Cenis get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 16.4°C. About under 1 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than almost every mainland French town, and about 0 reach 30°C.
How cold does Val-Cenis get in winter?
February nights average −9.9°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 199 nights a year, and about 69 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Val-Cenis get?
About 1,037 mm a year, more than 89% of mainland French towns. August is the wettest month (105 mm) and April the driest (61 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Bourg-Saint-Maurice (39 km away), averages 2,009 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Val-Cenis itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Val-Cenis, Tignes, 22 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 TIGNES_SAPC, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Val-Cenis →
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.