Climate and average weather in Épinal

In Épinal, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Épinal typically varies from -0°C to 24°C, and is rarely below -8°C or above 31°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Épinal for warm-weather activities is from mid May to late September.

Hottest
Jul
24°
Coldest
Jan
-0°
Wettest
Dec
111 mm
Driest
Apr
69 mm
Rain / yr
1004 mm
154 wet days
Daylight
8.1–15.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
388 m
48.2°N
Clearest
Aug
57% cloud
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 11 µg/m³ · 2019

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Épinal weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Épinal, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from May 27 to September 12, with daily high temperatures above 20°C. The hottest month of the year in Épinal is July, with an average high of 24°C and low of 14°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 15 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Épinal is January, with an average low of -0°C and high of 4°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in August.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan40
Feb60
Mar102
Apr145
May189
Jun2212
Jul2414
Aug2414
Sep1910
Oct147
Nov83
Dec51

How hot and cold Épinal really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -5°C (around January 24), with roughly 133 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan44-40
Feb66-40
Mar1010-12
Apr141425
May181879
Jun22221212
Jul24241414
Aug24241414
Sep19191010
Oct141457
Nov8803
Dec55-31

Average hourly temperature in Épinal

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 24°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -0°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Épinal weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -0°9514.14.98.60.0
Feb / -0°8112.34.99.90.3
Mar10° / 8312.92.811.62.2
Apr14° / 6912.10.613.43.9
May18° / 8813.5014.95.3
Jun22° / 12°7612.7015.86.1
Jul24° / 14°7212.7015.46.6
Aug24° / 14°7211.7014.16.7
Sep19° / 10°7910.9012.45.9
Oct14° / 8612.60.210.63.8
Nov / 9313.4291.3
Dec / 11115.25.18.20.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Épinal gets about 1004 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 2.8 months, from around Oct 31 to Jan 24, peaking in December at about 51% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 31.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 111 mm over about 15 wet days; April is the driest, with 69 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 25 · 51%Aug 31 · 36%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4514
Feb4412
Mar4113
Apr4012
May4514
Jun4213
Jul4013
Aug3712
Sep3811
Oct4013
Nov4413
Dec4915

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Épinal collects about 1004 mm of rain across 154 wet days — roughly 84 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 111 mm, while April is the driest at just 69 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec9581836988767272798693111
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan95145
Feb81125
Mar83133
Apr69121
May88140
Jun76130
Jul72130
Aug72120
Sep79110
Oct86130
Nov93132
Dec111155

Snow in Épinal

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Épinal averages about 21 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 4 to Apr 18 — about 5.5 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 21 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 75 cm of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 3
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan516
Feb521
Mar38
Apr12
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov210
Dec518

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Épinal, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 12 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around September 26. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 27 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 11. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 75% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 27 · 50%Dec 30 · 23%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2773
Feb2971
Mar3565
Apr3961
May3664
Jun4159
Jul4852
Aug4654
Sep3961
Oct3070
Nov2674
Dec2575

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 18, brings about 15 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 8 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.68:275:00
Feb9.97:525:46
Mar11.66:576:31
Apr13.45:527:17
May14.95:017:59
Jun15.84:398:29
Jul15.44:558:25
Aug14.15:347:42
Sep12.46:186:39
Oct10.67:025:36
Nov9.07:504:48
Dec8.28:264:35

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Épinal averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.4 months, from around Jun 16 to Sep 28. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 8 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is November, down near 4 sunny days — about 49% fewer than the July peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedJul 319 daysNov 124 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep8Gloomy
Oct6Gloomy
Nov4Gloomy
Dec5Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Épinal, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 13% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 8 · 100%Aug 4 · 84%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May91810
Jun682571
Jul5334130
Aug5037130
Sep772120
Oct95500
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Épinal is typically calm, near 11 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Oct 15 to Apr 9. The windiest month is December, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 10 to Oct 14, with August the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeDec 22 · 14 km/hAug 4 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan13light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar12light breeze
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun10calm
Jul10calm
Aug9calm
Sep10calm
Oct11calm
Nov12light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Épinal

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Épinal throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid September, Épinal is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Épinal for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 24 · 6.7

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.3poor
Mar2.2poor
Apr3.9fair
May5.3fair
Jun6.1good
Jul6.6good
Aug6.6good
Sep5.8good
Oct3.8fair
Nov1.3poor
Dec0.1poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Épinal for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 5.9

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Épinal, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 24°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 4°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Épinal sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 14°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Épinal by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Épinal peaks around July 15 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Épinal

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar3.50
Apr5.50
May7.52.5
Jun83.5
Jul84.5
Aug72
Sep4.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Épinal typically lasts about 323 days, from around February 20 to January 8 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 12 to November 5.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2050%Apr 1290%Nov 590%Jan 850%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4731
Feb4928
Mar7231
Apr9213
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct960
Nov7925
Dec5731

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Épinal banks about 1,042 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02505007501,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr11
May109
Jun207
Jul278
Aug267
Sep142
Oct29
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Épinal receives about 3.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.8 and 5.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 18. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.8 kWh/m² — roughly 85% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 255.8 kWhDec 220.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.0Dim
Feb1.9Dim
Mar3.1Moderate
Apr4.5Bright
May5.2Bright
Jun5.7Bright
Jul5.6Bright
Aug4.8Bright
Sep3.5Moderate
Oct2.1Moderate
Nov1.2Dim
Dec0.8Dim

Where is Épinal?

Épinal sits at 48.2°N, 6.5°E, 388 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, 38 km away.

Topography around Épinal

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Épinal.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Épinal has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 172 m around an average of 372 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 408 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,253 m.

The land around Épinal is covered by trees (48%) and artificial surfaces (33%) within 3 km, trees (53%) and grassland (27%) within 16 km, and trees (53%), grassland (24%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
172 m
16 km
408 m
80 km
1,253 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Saint-Dié-des-Vosges 38 km · Lunéville 46 km · Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy 57 km · Villers-lès-Nancy 59 km · Nancy 59 km · Laxou 60 km · Vesoul 66 km · Belfort 67 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 Épinal (48.1832°, 6.453°, elevation 388 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).