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-   -   Rain in Paris (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rain-in-paris-933822/)

grandmere May 3rd, 2012 05:55 AM

Rain in Paris
 
I'm going to be in Paris next week Mon-Thur., and the forecast is continuing to be dismal. Just wondering, those of you there, has the rain been all-day downpours or just showers off and on?
Thanks!

nini May 3rd, 2012 06:15 AM

We will be in Paris next week also-Tues-Fri. Hoping for nice weather!

StuDudley May 3rd, 2012 06:19 AM

If it is rainy, visit museums & the many interesting covered passages.

Stu Dudley

jamikins May 3rd, 2012 06:25 AM

Well if London is any indication it has been raining more than I have experienced in 5 years of living here unfortunatey. Today it is just very grey and dark with misty rain, and it is suppose to brighten (but not get sunny) over the weekend here.

Paris looks like rainy dismal weather until at least Tues :(

AussieFrance May 3rd, 2012 06:31 AM

Today, it started out dismal and now it's sunny. If it rains, it's never for long. We're actually getting March weather (when we got May weather instead this year) which means sudden downpours interspersed with sunny periods. The temperature has even gone up to 19°C so you need a raincoat and a couple of layers. You might like to check out my blog for some different things to do and local places to eat www.aussieinfrance.com

Phread May 3rd, 2012 06:52 AM

We have just had two weeks of dismal, rainy days in which it would rain all day. Monday afternoon there was a bit of clear sky and ever since then things have seemed back to normal, with rain everyday, but not all day.

grandmere May 3rd, 2012 09:56 AM

I've been in Paris several times before when there were brief showers but have never experienced all day downpours. The forecasts look as though that's been the case recently and continuing. Everyday rain but not all day sounds manageable!
Thanks, all!

Carlux May 3rd, 2012 11:36 AM

As I have said in other posts, and others agree above, this is not a normal year - whatever that means. Here in the Dordogne we hardly saw the sun in April, and that meant days and days of rain. I dont think Paris was different. Here is the forecast from Meteo France, which does not show whole days of rain next week. Just not much sun.

http://france.meteofrance.com/france...nsville/751010

Centralparkgirl May 3rd, 2012 12:08 PM

We arrived this morning and despite weather.com's dismal forecast, it was a beautiful day. A miracle! Not only did it not rain, but the sky was blue with fluffy clouds. No umbrella, just sunglasses! The forecast for tomorrow is 90% chance of rain, but after today, I'm being hopeful!

flpab May 3rd, 2012 01:10 PM

I left the sunglasses in the apartment thinking it was going to be rainy and it was so nice to have the weather predicted wrong. Wed was cold and very rainy. We are hoping the forcast will be wrong for the weekend as we are off to Normandy.

cigalechanta May 3rd, 2012 02:19 PM

My friend Indy returned from a week in Paris and he said it rained all the time.
Grandmere Hoping it stops for your arrival.

grandmere May 3rd, 2012 08:19 PM

I have found that generally the weather in Paris is better than predicted but it seems as though the last several days have been spot on, from what I'm reading, except for today. Thanks for all the good wishes for nice weather; after the few days in Paris we go to Uzes for a week, and surely it will be warmer and drier there. I hope all travelers, wherever they go, have sunny skies. (And here in the 'Burgh, it was 87 today!)

tuscanlifeedit May 3rd, 2012 08:59 PM

Sue, have fun!

It was too hot here for me today. I tend to get a lupus flare whenever the temps climb, and I could barely move today. I'm thinking that rain and gloomy days in Paris sound great.

I was so sick all day that I didn't bother to check the temperature, but I'm glad to hear you say it was really that hot. It might be a good explanation for why I felt so hideous!

I'm spending these weeks waiting for my new granddaughter... her name may possibly be Bianca.

Bon voyage, my friend.

kerouac May 3rd, 2012 09:22 PM

Showers are intermittent. May 1st was hot and sunny all day, but now we are back to scattered showers, although most afternoons have been pleasant and warm over the past few days.

AnthonyGA May 4th, 2012 12:43 AM

The forecast is never reliable beyond a few hours, so you can disregard that. Changing weather is normal for Paris, especially in spring and fall.

On average, there is measurable precipitation every other day in Paris, although recent years have been exceptionally dry. In practice, this means that there are frequent showers for a few days, then a few days with no rain, then days with showers again, and so on.

Most showers are light and of short duration. Occasional there are brief but substantial showers. Sustained rain for an entire day is rare, but sometimes very light, misty rain can fade in and out for several hours. Thunderstorms are rare.

The rain is usually light enough that you can walk around without an umbrella and simply duck under a tree or awning if a shower begins. After a few minutes it usually stops again and you can continue on. You can take an umbrella if you want extra protection, but it's not unusual to see people ignoring the very light rain that commonly occurs in the city.

Kwoo May 4th, 2012 04:54 AM

Grandmere & centralparkgirl,
I don't think weather.com is reliable at all. When we went to Barcelona in October 2010, I checked weather.com, which predicted rain for every day we were going to be in Spain. In reality, it only rained one morning, & then we had beautiful weather for our entire trip.

We haven't had normal weather here in New England either. The winter was unusually warm, no snow, except for a freak storm in October, & then 3 - 4 inches of snow in March. And March was warmer than May so far. We had a big dinner party at our house in March & our guests were able to dine on our deck! Unheard of in March in New England. And now we are turning the heat on in our house!

To everyone who is in Paris in May, I hope you have sunny & warm weather. I will be there in July/August & I'm praying for sun & warmth, too :-) But not too hot!

cornelius01 May 4th, 2012 05:20 AM

Been raining here in New England all week....raw and gloomy. I sure hope that is not what we will be going into when we arrive in Paris on the 16th of May....have been following Accuweather and they are forecasting rain the whole week we are there and chilly too, so I hope it is wrong. Wondering if I should pack raincoat now???

tailsock May 4th, 2012 05:27 AM

before my 4 day trip to Paris i checked weather.com which indicated that rain was likely... i also checked wunderground.com which indicated that it would be partly cloudy instead. It only rained once and it didn't last long. As others have said, there are awesome indoor attractions.

-churches (from inside of course)
-Louvre
-Brady Passage (for some indian flavor)
-La Defense shopping area
-Conciergerie
-Invalides army museum
-Opera Garnier

just to name a few

grandmere May 4th, 2012 06:55 AM

Tuscanle,
i'm sorry the weather here affected you yesterday; I think today is another of the same. Lie low and have fun thinking about the new grandbaby!

Everyone seems to be reinforcing my experience that the forecast "ain't necessarily so". Hope that low of 42 that I see for Mon. is another example of that!

paris1953 May 4th, 2012 04:14 PM

We just returned on Wednesday. I was so happy I decided at the last minute to take my boots! Rainy and wet for the first couple of days...we even saw itty bitty hail for a few minutes. But the sun would break through occasionally, and on the last 3 days, it was spectacular! If you saw the photos of Sarkozy's May Day rally at Trocadero and the beautiful blue skies...it was truly gorgeous and the weather divine.

Just take your umbrella everywhere. And layers layers layers.

Most of the locals told us the weather has been awful and rainy for weeks and weeks. And boy are they tired of it!


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