The May weekend weather is far from perfect. Forecasts from Météo France and the Weather Channel are counting on long weekends disrupted by showers and even thunderstorms…
Do the long weekends of May 2023 have favorable weather in store for us? A real Swiss cheese this year with long weekends for May 1, May 8, then Ascension (May 18) and finally Pentecost (May 29), the month’s calendar should be conducive to outdoor getaways . But still it is necessary that the heavens are the part. And according to Météo France or the Weather Channel, it’s not really won.
The weather for the long weekend of May 1
This Saturday, April 29 promises to be cloudy in the morning, especially in the south-west quarter of the country, with stormy showers from the Vendée to the Pyrenees. The sun will point the tip of its nose in Alsace and will make a few more prolonged appearances between Normandy and the Paris region, after some morning mists. The wind will be weak and the temperatures rather mild. Arrival of the rains by Brittany in the evening. From 8 degrees in Lille, Rouen and Charleville-Mézières to 17 degrees in Marseille or Bordeaux in the morning, temperatures will rise in the afternoon, reaching a minimum of 15°C in Cherbourg and a maximum of 24°C. in Perpignan.
Sunday April 30, it’s the same scenario, with probably more alternation of rain-storms-sun and deterioration along the Channel. The Mediterranean basin will be the most spared by the greyness. Temperatures will remain at the same level, from 7°C in Charleville to 16°C in Montpellier and Perpignan in the morning and from 14°C in Cherbourg to 24°C in Marseille in the afternoon.
Monday May 1st will be a little drier with more brightness and in particular a timid return of good weather from the west in the afternoon. Thunderstorms will move into Limousin, the Massif Central and south-east in the evening. Morning temperatures: 9°C in Rouen and 10°C from Brest to Troyes, 11°C in Strasbourg, up to averages of around 15°C from Hérault to the Alpes de Haute Provence. In the afternoon, it will be 15°C along the Channel and 17°C in Rennes or Lille, but only 16°C in Limoges, and even 13°C in Aurillac, caught in the storms. Maximum at 23°C in Marseille. Here are the Weather Channel maps for the weekend (afternoon):
If you want to see the sun (and incidentally the sea), then opt for the northwest and especially the English Channel, and focus at the start of the weekend. The Atlantic arc, on the other hand, should be avoided, like the Mediterranean rim and the Gulf of Lion. Watch out for thunderstorms in the Basque Country, but also the Côte d’Azur, especially in the hinterland, and Corsica from Sunday.
The weather for the weekend of May 8
The next bridge also promises to be quite gloomy over a good part of the country, after a beautiful weekend. On Saturday May 6, a northern half will wake up to sunshine, while clouds will dominate in the south, with no rain forecast and temperatures returning to above normal. But we must not rejoice too quickly: the showers will arrive in the afternoon and will go up to the south of the Loire with thunderstorms and falling temperatures. Sunday May 7, the weather should be drier in the morning, but a trailing sky will affect the country in the afternoon, with a stormy scenario which will be repeated in the Center and up to the gates of the Paris region. A stormy tendency is also to be feared on the southern reliefs.
The northern half is therefore again to be recommended because it is probably less affected by thunderstorms and showers than the southern half for the weekend. On the other hand, Monday May 8, the whole of France will be immersed in this disturbed flow, with showers interspersed with sunny spells for everyone. Mists, threatening clouds, stormy showers and falling or seasonal average temperatures are to be expected after May 8.
The weather for the Ascension Bridge (May 18 to 21)
The forecast for the bridgeAscent (from Thursday, May 18 holiday to Sunday, May 21) are still to be refined. But gray should still dominate in the sky for the start of this long extended weekend, according to the first trends. A gradual return of sunny spells can nevertheless be hoped for from Saturday 20. “Drier and anticyclonic weather again could impose itself on the country” from this date, writes even Météo Consult, which announces a mass of air hot all over Europe and therefore a potential “first national heat peak”.