Our place in Argelès...

You are here: Our place in Argelès / Weather

1.  Weather

Like all English people we are obsessed with the weather so, naturally, we have collected lots of links to do with the weather - both in France and the UK.

Top of page

2.  Land Forecasts

France

UK

Top of page

3.  Marine Forecasts

Mediterranean

UK Waters

Top of page

4.  Argelès Micro-climate

Top of page

5.  Argelès in Winter

In June 2002, when choosing our french flat, we asked the estate agent what the weather was like in the winter. "Like this" he said, pointing to the clear blue sky above us.
It was not a dishonest answer but when we arrived at our flat in mid-January it was freeeeeezing! Brilliant sunshine by day but very cold at night. The mean temperature in Argelès in January is 8C. It helps to bear in mind that the mean is somewhere between the daily maximum and minumum. Quite often, during the day, the temperature can reach 21C, which means that, at night, it has to drop considerably to achieve that mean temperature of 8C!

With very low occupation out of season, we do not have surrounding neighbours to help keep us warm. It is a summer holiday flat, with no insulation in the walls or roof space and single glazed patio doors running the full width and height of our lounge and bedroom. Luckily, our flat is fitted with two fixed 1.5kW convector heaters and we had brought a 3kW fan heater with us. After putting up heavy curtains it took about two days to bring the temperature up to about 18C. You could feel the cold radiating off the walls. During the day it was beautifully sunny and temperatures often reached 21C. But as soon as the sun went down it got very cold. We spent most of our four-week stay in three layers of clothing and under two duvets with two hot-water bottles at night!

When we tell people about this they are always surprised. But most of them have only seen Mediterranean countries during the summer. Even Spain gets cold in winter. Houses in France and Spain proudly boast of having a chimney - i.e. a central wood burning fireplace! In estate agents windows a chimney is a major selling feature. The locals know these are not just for show - they are vital!

Top of page

6.  Snow in Argelès

At daybreak on Monday 08 March 2010 it began to snow in Argelès. By 0900 we had a few centimetres. It did not look as if it was going to settle and we thought it would stop soon. But the snow got heavier and continued all day. On Monday afternoon it was about 25 centimetres thick (10 inches) and was severely affecting traffic on the Avenue du Tech (the main road running through Argelès-Plage). Most side roads by this time were completely blocked. Throughout the afternoon and night there were loud cracks as many of the pine trees lost branches or complete trees fell over because of the weight of snow.

It continued to snow overnight until Tuesday morning when it finally stopped snowing. We heard that the whole of the coastal region was covered in snow to a depth of about 50 centimetres (20 inches). The locals said it was the heaviest snowfall for 30 years. The gardener in Patios de la Massane said the damage to trees in the gardens was twice as bad as the snowfall in 1995.

There were scenes of devastation all around Patios de la Massane. Avenue du Tech was blocked by a large tree near Esplanade du Roussillon, which was cleared by council workmen on Tuesday afternoon. Even so, Avenue du Tech was reduced to a single lane in several places. Many roads in the vicinity were blocked by fallen trees or broken branches laying in the road. Avenue du Pimpolos was completely blocked by a fallen tree, which was about 60 centimetres (24 inches) in diameter at one end of the avenue and a smaller tree at the other end. Several cars were trapped between these two trees until they were cleared on Wednesday by council workmen using chain saws. The snow was cleared by a tractor with a snow plough attachment - the only snow plough we saw in use locally.

We had no idea what the roads were like further afield because we could not use our car. Not only was it blocked in by snow, but a medium size tree had fallen across the track leading in and out of the car park.

On Wednesday afternoon, after cutting through the fallen tree with a hand saw and clearing an exit route from the car park, we were able to get our car out of the car park. Avenue du Tech was passable with two-way traffic for most of the way to the Office du Tourism. From there to Argelès-sur-Mer conditions gradually improved. From Argelès-sur-Mer we took the old Route National to junction 10 on the N114. Once we got on the N114 we had no problems at all.

On Thursday we travelled to Font-Romeu in the Pyrénées. For most of that journey it became apparent that inland regions had received far less snow than the coastal areas.

Here are just a few of the photos we took.

Top of page