Boulogne-sur-Mer in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Boulogne-sur-Mer sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 258 mm of precipitation over about 41 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Boulogne-sur-Mer's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Boulogne-sur-Mer's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
8°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
4°C
Precipitation
258 mm
41 wet days
Avg wind
24 km/h
Travel score
1.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Boulogne-sur-Mer in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.

A typical winter day in Boulogne-sur-Mer reaches about 8°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

-5°10°15°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Boulogne-sur-Mer

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 59 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
59
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Boulogne-sur-Mer weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 8814.30.98.20.9
Feb / 6411.60.99.71.0
Mar / 5310.80.511.51.9
Apr12° / 4810.1013.53.0
May14° / 10°5710.7015.24.2
Jun17° / 13°529.5016.25.5
Jul19° / 15°5510.2015.86.2
Aug20° / 15°7010.4014.36.2
Sep18° / 13°6911.2012.45.5
Oct15° / 11°10114.3010.43.9
Nov11° / 10715.90.18.72.2
Dec / 10614.70.77.81.3

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Boulogne-sur-Mer gets around 258 mm of rain and snow over 41 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 24 km/h across winter.

0102030DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.1 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Boulogne-sur-Mer?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

1.1
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

What to pack for Boulogne-sur-Mer in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Boulogne-sur-Mer sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 41 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Boulogne-sur-Mer in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 9°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan9Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep18Cool
Oct16Cool
Nov13Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Boulogne-sur-Mer in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Boulogne-sur-Mer peaks around June 20 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 20UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Boulogne-sur-Mer?

Boulogne-sur-Mer sits at 50.7°N, 1.6°E, 43 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Outreau, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Boulogne-sur-Mer

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Boulogne-sur-Mer has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 187 m around an average of 54 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 274 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 290 m.

The land around Boulogne-sur-Mer is covered by artificial surfaces (34%), trees (23%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, water (42%) within 16 km, and water (45%) and cropland (31%) within 80 km.

3 km
187 m
16 km
274 m
80 km
290 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Outreau 3.0 km · Calais 30 km · Berck-Plage 36 km · Berck 36 km · Saint-Omer 46 km · Dover 49 km · Folkestone 51 km · Deal 57 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$48,986
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 539
Religion
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Boulogne-sur-Mer (50.7249°, 1.6137°, elevation 43 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.