According to French writer Martin Page, “rain falls the way we fall in love: by thwarting forecasts”. The weather may surprise us from time to time, but meteorology is an exact science. In the aftermath of storm Kirk, which wreaked havoc across France, we asked ourselves a simple question: what’s the wettest month in Toulouse?
The rainiest month in Toulouse is probably not the one you’re thinking of!
It’s a well-known fact that Toulouse is a very sunny city. With an average of 2,030 hours of sunshine a year, the pink city’s climate is often the envy of many. In terms of temperature, the hottest months are July (28°C), August (28°C) and June (26°C), while the coldest are generally January (6°C), February (7°C) and December (7°C).
Meteorological data even tells us that the cloudiest period of the year begins around September 20 and lasts 8.7 months, ending around June. So what about rain? Contrary to what you might think, it’s neither autumn nor winter when it rains most in Toulouse.
In May, we don’t do as we please in the pink city. The fifth month of the year, synonymous with spring, is also the wettest month in Toulouse. On average, 75 mm of rain falls during this month. April is also one of the months to get out your umbrellas.
But as the saying goes, “there are no more seasons ma bonne dame”. In October 2006, just 18 years ago, the people of Toulouse experienced record rainfall, with 68mm falling in the space of 6 hours. More recently, in August 2024, the equivalent of a month’s rain fell in August in 24 hours… Will we see new rainfall records?