Montpellier in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Montpellier sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 176 mm of precipitation over about 23 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 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Montpellier's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Montpellier's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 12°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 7°C
- Precipitation
- 176 mm
- 23 wet days
- Avg wind
- 19 km/h
- Travel score
- 3.3
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Montpellier in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.
A typical winter day in Montpellier reaches about 12°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
Montpellier 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11° / 7° | 71 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 12° / 7° | 42 | 5.8 | 10.2 | 3.4 |
| Mar | 14° / 9° | 46 | 6 | 11.6 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 16° / 11° | 60 | 7.3 | 13.2 | 5.5 |
| May | 19° / 15° | 48 | 6.2 | 14.5 | 6.9 |
| Jun | 23° / 18° | 25 | 3.8 | 15.2 | 8.2 |
| Jul | 26° / 20° | 14 | 2.2 | 14.9 | 8.5 |
| Aug | 26° / 21° | 26 | 4 | 13.8 | 8.2 |
| Sep | 23° / 18° | 96 | 6.3 | 12.3 | 7.7 |
| Oct | 19° / 15° | 114 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 6.1 |
| Nov | 15° / 11° | 108 | 10.5 | 9.5 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 12° / 8° | 63 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 3.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Montpellier gets around 176 mm of rain and snow over 23 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 19 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.1 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Montpellier
In winter, Montpellier overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Montpellier's rainy season runs April–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Montpellier?
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.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Montpellier.
What to pack for Montpellier in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Montpellier sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 23 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Montpellier in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 13°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 26 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 12°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 26 to Sep 17 — about 2.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Bracing |
| Feb | 12 | Bracing |
| Mar | 12 | Bracing |
| Apr | 14 | Bracing |
| May | 16 | Cool |
| Jun | 19 | Cool |
| Jul | 21 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 20 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 18 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 14 | Bracing |
UV index in Montpellier in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Montpellier peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | High | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 7 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 7 | High |
| Sep | 5 | High |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Montpellier?
Montpellier sits at 43.6°N, 3.9°E, 55 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Castelnau-le-Lez, 3.0 km away.
Topography around Montpellier
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Montpellier.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Montpellier has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 84 m around an average of 38 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 300 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,562 m.
The land around Montpellier is covered by artificial surfaces (67%) and trees (30%) within 3 km, trees (35%) within 16 km, and trees (40%) and water (26%) within 80 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
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 Montpellier (43.6109°, 3.8763°, elevation 55 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.