Since the beginning of May, the weather has been cool and humid over much of France.
According to specialists, the weather is expected to remain cool and rainy until the end of May.
However, this weather is nothing unusual, according to Météo France.
We had imagined finding the terraces under a spring sun, a pair of sunglasses on your nose and a beer in your hand.
Finally, May looks more like November, with sweaters, hoodies and rain boots.
And as bad news never comes alone, it will take patience because the bad weather should last until the end of May, according to Météo-France forecasts.
If the weather this month of May is not very happy, it remains nonetheless normal, as explained Jérôme Lecou, meteorologist at Météo France, interviewed by
20 Minutes
.
Is the current weather "normal"?
The month of May is often a month of contrasts, but that's normal, it's a month of transition.
And who says transition period says unstable period.
We are at the end of spring, there are still a lot of influences in terms of air masses.
Conversely, we can have hot thrusts, with air masses coming from the Iberian Peninsula or the Maghreb.
When we look at the annual data, we had very hot months of May, like in 2011 or 1999, cold months of May, like in 1984 or 2013, or very cold, in 1941, even rainy like 1984 or in 2016 .
Should we expect more rainfall than in other years?
On average, throughout France, we normally register around 80 millimeters of rain in May. There is nothing abnormal with this weather, the month of May is often quite a rainy month, with strong variability. It is the fifth rainiest month of the year. This year, excess rainfall is expected. In mid-May, we already have readings that are higher than in other years in certain places, such as in Rhône-Alpes or in the Alps. Conversely, we have regions that have remained dry, such as the Basque Country and the Hauts de France.
But that's pretty good news for soils.
We had a fairly dry start to the year, at the end of winter, we were already talking about drought in some places.
We were even starting to worry.
We will quickly switch to the summer period, if we hadn't had the rain now, it would have been complicated for the soils and agriculture.
What is this “bad” weather due to?
Currently, we have an unstable air mass, with cold air aloft, positioned between the British Isles and Germany.
We also have a very marked westerly current, with a long cloudy band that stretches across the Atlantic, which generates rainy episodes.
What is striking is the difference with March, which was a very good month.
What are the forecasts for the next few weeks and for this summer?
This cool air mass will stay until the end of the month, with showers and temperatures below normal for the season, at least until May 24 or 25.
For the last days of May, we cannot yet know precisely, it is too early.
We cannot yet know for the last days of May.
But there are going to be differences between regions in the coming days.
The disturbances will continue over two-thirds of the northern part of France.
The Mediterranean regions will clearly do better.
From next week, the weather should be sunny in the south, but with a little cooler air mass.
For the coming months, we are still uncertain for June, but depending on the seasonal trends, we remain on the idea of having a summer a little warmer than normal.
Are temperatures below seasonal norms?
Yes, current temperatures are below seasonal norms.
In May, we should normally approach 19 degrees in the northern part of the country and 21 degrees in the south.
For the moment, we are more around 16 or 17 degrees in the northern half, and 18 degrees in the South.
These temperatures will last until the end of May, there is no warming in sight in the coming days.
Television
Coronavirus: What are the weather reports for when we are not allowed to go out?
Television
"Seven to eight": Catherine Laborde delivers a very moving testimony on "the disease which will prevail"
Society
Cold
Weather forecast
Rain
Meteo France
Weather forecast