Climate and average weather in La Roche-sur-Yon

In La Roche-sur-Yon, the summers are warm, fairly dry, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in La Roche-sur-Yon typically varies from 3°C to 25°C, and is rarely below -3°C or above 30°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit La Roche-sur-Yon for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Aug
25°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Dec
84 mm
Driest
Jul
41 mm
Rain / yr
735 mm
121 wet days
Daylight
8.4–15.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
73 m
46.7°N
Clearest
Aug
54% cloud
Air quality
Good
PM10 15.3 µg/m³ · 2019

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

La Roche-sur-Yon 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 early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in La Roche-sur-Yon, 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 June 4 to September 21, with daily high temperatures above 21°C. The hottest month of the year in La Roche-sur-Yon is August, with an average high of 25°C and low of 15°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 18 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below 12°C. The coldest month of the year in La Roche-sur-Yon is January, with an average low of 4°C and high of 9°C.

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

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan94
Feb103
Mar135
Apr167
May1910
Jun2213
Jul2415
Aug2515
Sep2212
Oct1710
Nov136
Dec104

How hot and cold La Roche-sur-Yon 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 -1°C (around January 31), with roughly 35 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)
Jan9904
Feb101003
Mar131325
Apr151647
May1919910
Jun22221313
Jul24241515
Aug24251515
Sep22221212
Oct1717910
Nov131336
Dec101014

Average hourly temperature in La Roche-sur-Yon

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 August afternoons, near 25°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

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

La Roche-sur-Yon weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 7611.38.81.8
Feb10° / 589.6102.2
Mar13° / 5510.311.63.6
Apr16° / 5710.713.34.6
May19° / 10°6210.914.85.8
Jun22° / 13°47915.66.7
Jul24° / 15°417.515.37.4
Aug25° / 15°467.5147.4
Sep22° / 12°537.712.46.9
Oct17° / 10°781210.65.2
Nov13° / 7912.19.23.2
Dec10° / 8412.28.42.0

Chance of rain

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

La Roche-sur-Yon gets about 735 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 3.9 months, from around Sep 30 to Jan 26, peaking in November at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 19.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 84 mm over about 12 wet days; July is the driest, with 41 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 4 · 43%Jul 19 · 22%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3711
Feb3410
Mar3310
Apr3611
May3611
Jun309
Jul238
Aug248
Sep278
Oct3912
Nov4012
Dec3912

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, La Roche-sur-Yon collects about 735 mm of rain across 121 wet days — roughly 61 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 84 mm, while July is the driest at just 41 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec765855576247414653787984
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan7611
Feb5810
Mar5510
Apr5711
May6211
Jun479
Jul418
Aug468
Sep538
Oct7812
Nov7912
Dec8412

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In La Roche-sur-Yon, 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 21 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 3. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 4 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 31. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 12 · 53%Dec 26 · 27%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2971
Feb3664
Mar3664
Apr4060
May3763
Jun4258
Jul5050
Aug5248
Sep4951
Oct3862
Nov3268
Dec2971

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 11, brings about 15 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.88:535:37
Feb10.08:206:20
Mar11.67:287:03
Apr13.36:267:46
May14.85:388:26
Jun15.65:178:55
Jul15.35:328:50
Aug14.06:098:10
Sep12.46:507:10
Oct10.67:326:10
Nov9.28:175:25
Dec8.48:515:13

Sunny days

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

La Roche-sur-Yon 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 10 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Jun 14 to Oct 2. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 10 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is May, down near 6 sunny days — about 39% fewer than the August peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 1210 daysMay 44 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep9Mixed
Oct7Gloomy
Nov6Gloomy
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 La Roche-sur-Yon, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around June 6 to September 27. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 30% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 28 to June 5, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 17 · 100%Aug 3 · 67%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr99100
May851410
Jun553491
Jul3244212
Aug3239254
Sep5733100
Oct722530
Nov95500
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 La Roche-sur-Yon is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Oct 20 to Apr 15. The windiest month is January, averaging about 16 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 16 to Oct 19, with August the calmest month at about 12 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 1 · 16 km/hAug 4 · 12 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan16light breeze
Feb16light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May14light breeze
Jun13light breeze
Jul13light breeze
Aug12light breeze
Sep13light breeze
Oct14light breeze
Nov15light breeze
Dec16light breeze

Best time to visit La Roche-sur-Yon

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late September, La Roche-sur-Yon 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 La Roche-sur-Yon for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 17 · 7.5

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
Jan1.8poor
Feb2.2poor
Mar3.6fair
Apr4.6fair
May5.8good
Jun6.7good
Jul7.4good
Aug7.4good
Sep6.9good
Oct5.2fair
Nov3.2poor
Dec2.0poor

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 La Roche-sur-Yon for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 22 · 6.6

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 La Roche-sur-Yon, 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 August (highs near 25°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 9°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, La Roche-sur-Yon sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

Sea temperature near La Roche-sur-Yon

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 33 km away) is warmest in August at about 20°C and coldest in February near 10°C.

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

10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan10Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr12Bracing
May15Bracing
Jun17Cool
Jul19Cool
Aug20Cool
Sep18Cool
Oct17Cool
Nov14Bracing
Dec12Bracing

UV index (midday) in La Roche-sur-Yon 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 La Roche-sur-Yon peaks around July 24 at about 7 (very 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 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 24UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in La Roche-sur-Yon

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 3.5 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
Apr60
May71
Jun7.53.5
Jul83.5
Aug73
Sep50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

La Roche-sur-Yon is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 9 to November 22 (259 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 990%Nov 2290%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan7931
Feb7828
Mar9210
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov9312
Dec8231

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. La Roche-sur-Yon banks about 1,322 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr35
May138
Jun228
Jul296
Aug296
Sep210
Oct110
Nov9
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.

La Roche-sur-Yon receives about 3.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.0 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 21. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.1 kWh/m² — roughly 83% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 246.2 kWhDec 231.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.2Dim
Feb2.1Moderate
Mar3.5Moderate
Apr4.8Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.1Intense
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.1Bright
Oct2.5Moderate
Nov1.5Dim
Dec1.0Dim

Where is La Roche-sur-Yon?

La Roche-sur-Yon sits at 46.7°N, 1.4°W, 73 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Les Sables-d'Olonne, 33 km away.

Topography around La Roche-sur-Yon

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around La Roche-sur-Yon has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 51 m around an average of 63 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 339 m.

The land around La Roche-sur-Yon is covered by artificial surfaces (46%) and trees (26%) within 3 km, cropland (40%), grassland (31%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and cropland (32%), water (27%) and grassland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
51 m
16 km
135 m
80 km
339 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Les Sables-d'Olonne 33 km · Les Herbiers 39 km · Challans 40 km · Fontenay-le-Comte 53 km · Vertou 56 km · Bouguenais 59 km · Rezé 59 km · Cholet 60 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 La Roche-sur-Yon (46.6697°, -1.4276°, elevation 73 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).