What to expect from the weather in France for the long Easter weekend

People looking to benefit from good weather this Easter weekend may be left disappointed as much of the country is set to face wet or stormy weather. 

Most regions are expected to see rain either on Saturday or Sunday, and in the mountains, snowfall is likely, particularly on Easter Monday. 

Friday April 18 

Despite the weekend woes, Friday is set to be a pleasant day for most, although stormy weather is expected in the south-west.

The storms and rain that hit the Massif Central and south-east for much of the last week have cleared, leading to a warm and sunny day along the French Riviera. 

Elsewhere, the Mediterranean will likewise remain sunny, with some wispy clouds in the north and east. 

Normandy and Brittany will see darker grey clouds – with rain potentially falling in the latter. 

An Atlantic storm may hit the west and south-west from early afternoon, bringing rain and thunder – and even hail to the areas surrounding Bordeaux. 

These storms will last for much of the evening before calming and moving further inland. 

Temperatures in the area will remain high though, up to 24C in Bordeaux. 

Elsewhere, highs of between 17C and 20C are likely, except in coastal Brittany and the German border, where temperatures will hover at around 13C. 

Note that heightened warnings for avalanches are still in place in the Alps after intense snowfall yesterday.

Saturday April 19 

Rain of varying levels of intensity will hit most of France with only the most easterly areas guaranteed to remain dry – others in the north could still face showers even if prolonged downpours are not forecast.

Friday’s storms in the south-west will pick up again, moving into central areas and south to the Mediterranean coastline – hail is expected around Toulouse. 

An early Atlantic rainfall will move inwards from Brittany up to Normandy, Paris, and Hauts-de-France, before a second bout covers Brittany and the Loire Valley later in the afternoon. 

Rainfall will reach the south-east and Alps by evening. 

Temperatures will plummet in the south-west by up to 10C as the storms settle in place, yet rise by around 7C or 8C in the east as skies remain mostly sunny, leaving national averages largely similar to last week.

Heightened warnings for the storms have not yet been raised by state forecaster Météo France but this may change – and keeping up with local weather reports is recommended. 

Further snowfall in the Alps is unlikely for the moment, however in the Pyrénées is expected at altitudes of 1,500m and above.

Sunday April 20 

Rain will push northwards, impacting areas that were potentially unaffected on Saturday, in particular the north of France around the Belgian border.

The west and south-east will continue to face rainfall, but in all instances rain will be patchier than on Saturday. 

Temperatures will be roughly the same as Saturday, cooler in the south-west and in the path of the rain than in the east and unlikely to break 20C anywhere 

Chilly winds will blow in the north and south, making temperatures ‘feel’ cooler than thermometers may show.

Storms are unlikely, however locally in the south-west may briefly appear, and Corsica may be impacted by some further south in the Mediterranean ocean.

Monday April 21 

Easter Monday is a public holiday in France, leading to busy traffic across the motorway network as many families return home from long weekends away. 

More rain is expected in the south-west, pushing roughly up to Limoges. 

In turn, the north, Mediterranean and centre-east should remain dry, although rainfall along the Alps and French Riviera is possible. 

Snow is likely to fall in Alpine areas at a height of 1,700m and above, as well as in the Pyrénées at 1,800m – only the highest peaks in the chain are likely to see much snow.