May and September 2015 Trips - Weather in France and Spain
 

We had originally planned to visit Spain in May 2015 and do France in September but our son returned from a mid-May - early June trip to Portugal and Spain and said it was cold and rainy the whole time with downpours in Barcelona. Further research into weather averages suggested that his experience was not unusual, and I even encountered a Spanish saying about not putting one's coat away until the 10th of June. Obviously weather varies from year to year but going with the averages has worked out in the past. We plan general tours all over both countries. I would appreciate hearing others' experiences traveling in either France or Spain in either May or September. We love seeing flowers in bloom when we travel if that makes a difference.

Thanks as always for sharing your travel experiences!

Checking weather averages does give you a good idea of what to expect, but the last couple of years the weather in general has been going against the averages.

It was cool and wet in Barcelona, along the Costa Brava and in French Catalonia in late June, early July this year instead of the usual mild, warmer weather one would expect. Pamplona experienced the coldest fiesta since 1932, with an average daily temperature of only 16ºC. San Sebastian was pleasantly mild in mid-July compared to the warmer temperatures last summer, but it was cooler and wet in the Rioja near the end of the month, quite unusual, but one never knows what the weather will be until it finally arrives.

Our typical experience when traveling in the north of Spain in the Spring is to expect some rain. In September it can be very warm during the day along the Basque coast, but cooling off somewhat at night.

We have been to france in mid May twice and it was cool with sunny and rainy days...some days you could eat outside, others you couldn't.

We were in Barcelona and San Sebastián in April this year and had lovely weather with only one rainy day.

We prefer to travel in sept as we have found weather more consistently dry.

But who knows from year to year??

Come to the UK - we're having a lovely summer, the 2nd one in a row.

Thanks. For sharing your experiences.

Annhig - We do plan to return to the UK but are trying to see places we haven't been - working on the bucket list, you know! We had a marvelous time in Italy in May - sunny and dry - so we hope for more good May weather. After having to travel in the summer while rearing a family, now hat we are retired we like to travel while children are still in school and the hordes of other tourists haven't descended!

don't leave it too long, drchris. is Cornwall on your bucket list?

I was in Madrid for two weeks the later half of this May. It was mild and rained a bit a couple of days, as I recall.

Last week, it was in the 90s, but the humidity was low, so it was very tolerable.

annhig on Aug 13, 14

Come to the UK - we're having a lovely summer, the 2nd one in a row.

Like this? July 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28394863
Aug 2014 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...ntinue-4034564

To answer teh question weather history sites are ok but they can never forecast what it is actually going to be like. At those times of year (May or September) except anythign from Snow in the mountains to very nice sun shine.

mmm - well compared to most summers, ribeirasacra, this one has been a peach. ok we've had the odd storm [who doesn't?] but on the whole it's been dry and warm.

Best summer since we moved to Britain in 2007!

jamikins - it sounds as if your arrival in the UK co-incided with a run of pretty bad summers, which was broken by last year and now this. I can remember about 10 years ago a summer so dry that I didn't mow the lawn for a month as I was just bringing up dust.

I do feel, being serious for a moment, that the weather has become less predictable and the extremes of weather more frequent and more, well, extreme.

to answer the OP, we have usually found that travelling in September in Spain, we have had nice dry warm weather.

May use to be about the perfect time of year to go to anywhere in Spain, at least along the Med coast. Spring blossom in full and the summer heat is yet some weeks away.

Statistiscs for Malaga for the two mid weeks of May for the past 17 years says average higs at 76-80F, rainfall one out of fifteen days and an average of ten hours sun pr day.

Same for Barcelona says average highs at 70-74F, rainfall once a week and average 8 hours sun pr. day.

In San Sebastian on the Northern coast the statistiscs for mid May says average highs at 62-66F, rainfall one in three days and an average of six hours sun/day.

All data from wetteronline.de

September is also a good time of year to go, but usually higher temperatures.