Lyon climate
Lyon is warmest in July, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 0.5 °C. October is the wettest month (99 mm) and February the driest (55 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Lyon averages 943 mm of rain, 64 days above 25 °C and 49 days below freezing.
France · population 520,774 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 27 °C
- Coldest month January 0.5 °C
- Driest month February 55 mm
- Wettest month October 99 mm
- Least cloud July 46 % cloud
- Hottest on record August 39 °C
- Coldest on record January -16 °C
What to expectLyon through the year
Lyon has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 7.1 °C in January to 27 °C in July, a swing of 18 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 64 days a year reach 25 °C, 19 of them reach 30 °C, 49 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in August.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 55 mm in February to 99 mm in October. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.1 °C | 68 mm | 70 % |
| February | 8.7 °C | 55 mm | 63 % |
| March | 12.8 °C | 58 mm | 57 % |
| April | 16.3 °C | 81 mm | 58 % |
| May | 20.2 °C | 90 mm | 60 % |
| June | 24.4 °C | 81 mm | 54 % |
| July | 26.7 °C | 75 mm | 46 % |
| August | 26.7 °C | 75 mm | 47 % |
| September | 22.0 °C | 92 mm | 53 % |
| October | 17.1 °C | 99 mm | 65 % |
| November | 11.1 °C | 98 mm | 72 % |
| December | 7.7 °C | 72 mm | 72 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.1 °C | 0.5 °C | 3.7 °C | 17.4 °C | -15.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| February | 8.7 °C | 0.6 °C | 4.5 °C | 18.1 °C | -9.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| March | 12.8 °C | 3.3 °C | 8.0 °C | 22.3 °C | -7.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| April | 16.3 °C | 6.2 °C | 11.4 °C | 26.6 °C | -2.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 20.2 °C | 10.4 °C | 15.5 °C | 32.2 °C | 1.7 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 24.4 °C | 14.2 °C | 19.5 °C | 36.8 °C | 6.2 °C | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| July | 26.7 °C | 16.4 °C | 21.8 °C | 38.5 °C | 8.9 °C | 20 | 8 | 0 |
| August | 26.7 °C | 16.4 °C | 21.6 °C | 38.6 °C | 8.0 °C | 19 | 7 | 0 |
| September | 22.0 °C | 12.7 °C | 17.3 °C | 32.7 °C | 3.9 °C | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| October | 17.1 °C | 9.2 °C | 13.0 °C | 26.3 °C | -2.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 11.1 °C | 4.5 °C | 7.7 °C | 20.6 °C | -6.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| December | 7.7 °C | 1.6 °C | 4.5 °C | 16.8 °C | -11.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68 mm | 12 | 9.1 h/day | 70 % | 84 % | 16 km/h |
| February | 55 mm | 10 | 10 h/day | 63 % | 79 % | 16 km/h |
| March | 58 mm | 10 | 12 h/day | 57 % | 74 % | 17 km/h |
| April | 81 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 58 % | 70 % | 17 km/h |
| May | 90 mm | 12 | 15 h/day | 60 % | 70 % | 16 km/h |
| June | 81 mm | 11 | 16 h/day | 54 % | 67 % | 15 km/h |
| July | 75 mm | 9 | 15 h/day | 46 % | 64 % | 14 km/h |
| August | 75 mm | 9 | 14 h/day | 47 % | 66 % | 14 km/h |
| September | 92 mm | 9 | 13 h/day | 53 % | 72 % | 14 km/h |
| October | 99 mm | 11 | 11 h/day | 65 % | 80 % | 15 km/h |
| November | 98 mm | 12 | 9.5 h/day | 72 % | 84 % | 16 km/h |
| December | 72 mm | 12 | 8.7 h/day | 72 % | 85 % | 16 km/h |
How Lyon compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon | 27 °C | 0.5 °C | 943 mm | 64 |
| Saint-Étienne · France | 25 °C | -0.3 °C | 944 mm | 45 |
| Grenoble · France | 26 °C | -0.7 °C | 1,432 mm | 64 |
| Geneva · Switzerland | 24 °C | -1.0 °C | 1,385 mm | 39 |
| Dijon · France | 25 °C | 0.2 °C | 915 mm | 45 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Lyon.
QuestionsCommon questions about Lyon’s climate
When is the best time to visit Lyon?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Lyon get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 19 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 0.5 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 49 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Lyon?
October, averaging 99 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is February with 55 mm. The year as a whole averages 943 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Lyon rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 45.749°, 4.848° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.