Weather in France (May'ish)

[Psamathe]

I'm thinking of departing probably France, maybe down to Nantes then maybe heading east, maybe departing in a couple of weeks. But the weather in the UK is bad (I hate cycling in the rain but accept it might happen occasionally).

Is the weather Caen and south generally better than we get in the UK last half of May?

Ian

[al_yrpal]

Cycling around Brittany in early June a few years ago 6 out of 9 days were pouring rain and high headwinds. Its pot luck IMO.

Al

[tatanab]

Early June is my favourite time for touring. One year around Nantes I had temperatures in the low 30s, another year it was down to about 4 degrees overnight, camping. I've also had a week of heavy rain and thunderstorms. It seems as variable as weather in England, but usually a little warmer since you are a hundred miles and more further south.

[RobinS]

We are off tomorrow, Portsmouth to St Malo, down to Nantes, then east along the Loire, and onwards...…..
On average the weather should be moderately warm (12-20c), some rain, but more dry days than wet.
What we have had in the past leaving home late April - one trip, consistent night frosts, down to -4c, max of 12c during the day, but very dry. Another trip cool and breezy, with one two week spell of two days rain for every dry day.
Another time, in late May/early June we turned around while cycling North towards Lyon as the weather across central and northern France was so bad, with lots of flooding - so we headed south for Spain!

At the end of the day it is weather! On average better than the UK, but still variable.

[simonhill]

If you look at sites like Accuweather you can get detailed stats for any town. Max, min, average, etc. However as said, in that area it will be pot luck, much as in the UK. I'm thinking of Bordeaux to Caen in June and hope I will be lucky like last year when I had that lovely heatwave on a Basle to Dunkirk ride.

I have found that further west in Brittany there is often a big difference between the North and South, with the central Amorican Massif acing as a divide.

[Psamathe]

Many thanks.

Maybe I should look for a better waterproof. Mine is mainly a walking one but a monkey ripped a hole in it recently and it is a bit bulkier than ideal.

Ian

[teamonster]

Last May cycled up through France from Spain. According to locals it was the stormiest May in 75 years, we had rain and poor weather almost every day, including some pretty severe storms. Even though we were camping, we still had a great time - carry waterproofs and just laugh about it if the weather is ridiculously bad ! Best of luck, it's such a great country to cycle in

[nsew]

Changeable. I don’t use waterproof clothing. Gloves and shoes yes. Fast drying lightweight layers. Merino long sleeve, socks & beanie. I don’t cycle in the rain other than to get out of it.

[Audax67]

Right now in France the weather is bloody cold with snow forecast for the north and rain here. Tomorrow we're due a torrid 11°C with showers in the pm. I'm staying in.

[nsew]

Right now in France the weather is bloody cold with snow forecast for the north and rain here. Tomorrow we're due a torrid 11°C with showers in the pm. I'm staying in.

Sissy! I’m currently in the Borgogne and it’s not great. The forecasts generally appear worse than the reality.

[Goosey]

It's 18 here and sunny *smug face*

[bretonbikes]

Anyone who tells you they know what to expect anywhere in Europe at a certain date should be treated as a charlatan! Here we have been in T-shirts and shorts in February and had a hard frost (-2) last week. 'Unpredictable' is the only way you can describe European weather generally...