France weekend weather November 14-15: rain returns as temperatures fluctuate

Pockets of rain will appear consistently across France this weekend, even as temperatures begin to climb on Sunday. 

Chilly mornings with temperatures well below freezing will bring frost to several areas, as temperatures drop by around 10C in some areas compared to the middle of the week.

Friday November 13 

Friday will remain largely calm, with plenty of sun in the north and east. 

Thick grey clouds in the south-west and around the Alps could see these areas go the whole day without sunshine, while between eight and nine hours is possible in parts of Brittany and the east. 

Rain will be limited to brief showers in the south-east along the Riviera. 

Stormy conditions are not expected to return to mainland France now that Storm Charles has moved eastwards. Although Corsica may see rain throughout the day. 

Strong winds are expected in the south, with gusts of up to 80km/h along the Tramontane and Mistral paths, and in Languedoc/the Rhône Valley. Gales of 100km/h are possible in Corsica. 

Temperatures are generally a little cooler than usual for the season, with highs of 8C - 12C in the north, and 12C - 16C in the south. 

Saturday November 14 

A belt of grey clouds in the south-west may bring rain to the Pyrénées up to Perpignan, with some showers moving further inland and up the western coast, potentially to Brittany. 

Outside of this, however, skies will be calm and sunny. 

At the same time, temperatures are set to remain chilly, with very cold morning conditions in the north and central areas and the return of frost. 

In some parts of the north, morning temperatures will be around -3C.

Highs of 7C - 10C in the north are forecast, but temperatures will be lower than this for much of the day. 

In the south, temperatures will reach up to 15C, potentially up to 17C in the south-east. The Pyrénées foothills could see temperatures of 20C despite the rain. 

Some places will have seen temperatures drop by around 10C since the middle of the week. 

There is a chance that showers move north up the Rhône Valley overnight, bringing some rain to the locations as north as Lyon.

Sunday November 15 

Rainclouds from the Atlantic will move in early in the morning, quickly covering the north of France from Brittany to the Luxembourg border as well as running down the western coast.

A second bout of rain along the western Mediterranean will also begin falling, centred around Montpellier. 

Forecasters disagree on the extent of the rain. State forecaster Météo-France predicts that almost all of France will see showers of some form on Sunday, although outside of these main areas rain will be brief and light.

La Chaîne Météo, owned by Le Figaro, forecasts that rain will be limited to the above areas, and the centre and east of France should remain clear and sunny. 

In either case, rain is not expected to be intense enough for heightened weather alerts. 

Both forecasters agree, however, that temperatures in the north will begin to rise on Sunday, with highs of 12C - 14C (although areas along the German border will continue to struggle to reach double digit figures). 

Temperatures in the south may drop slightly compared to Saturday, but highs of 18C in the south-east are still possible.

Early forecasts for next week show almost continual rain across France, with the north seeing showers throughout the week, and much of the south seeing drizzle from Tuesday (November 17) onwards. 

However, temperatures should remain warmer than the start of the weekend.