IN SEARCH OF THE SUN: Less than 200 hours of sunshine, against 248 hours on average, the month of July in Gironde was frankly not terrible
- The month of July that we have just experienced was mostly cool during the day, with temperatures often 2 to 4 degrees below normal, and very cloudy.
- With 50 mm, the rainfall is on the other hand average, but hides strong disparities according to the territories.
- This month of July was especially out of place compared to previous years, where the trend since 2012 has been for above-average temperatures.
Clearly, this month of July was not terrible throughout the Gironde. Some 196 hours of sunshine were recorded in Bordeaux , instead of 248 hours normally, and daytime temperatures mostly remained 2 to 4 degrees below normal… The picture drawn up by Meteo France is edifying. “On July 13 and 31, it was not more than 19 to 21 ° C, it is 4 to 9 degrees less than the norm”, underlines the meteorologist Mireille Alleno. To oblivion, therefore, the heat and the drought at a time envisaged for this summer.
However, if we analyze the figures more globally, the temperatures and rainfall for this month of July were actually quite close to normal. “Let’s not forget that we still had five really summer days from July 18, when the 30 ° C was exceeded on the coast, plus a few beautiful isolated days (July 2, 5 and 11), recalls the meteorologist. We must add to this that, on the whole, the mildness prevailed during the nights: the average nighttime temperatures are 0.7 ° C above normal. Considering these parameters, in the end we arrive at an average temperature in July of only 0.4 ° C below the standard. ”
15.2 ° C on July 7, 1996 in Mérignac
The daytime freshness records for a month of July go back to 1958 (16.2 ° C at Cap-Ferret on July 3), and 1996 (15.2 ° C on July 7 at the Bordeaux-Mérignac resort).
In contrast, the trend in recent years has been to have hotter-than-normal July. “We had not had such a low average since July 2012, points out Mireille Alleno. From 2013 to 2020, the average of the minimum and maximum temperatures combined was above average. This month of July was therefore taken a bit like a cold shower, especially since it came just behind the already very rainy months of May and June.
Very variable rainfall amounts depending on the sector
If July was therefore cool during the day and cloudy, it was not that rainy after all. With 50 mm of rain recorded in July, “we are right on average. »Depending on the sector, there were between 7 and 12 days of rain (a record in the north of the Médoc), ie 2 to 4 days more than usual. “But this average hides disparities, because these accumulations are very variable according to the geographical areas, nuance Mireille Alleno. Cap-Ferret and Lacanau are not very far away, yet the first is in deficit (26.5 mm or – 37% compared to normal) the other in excess (75.2 mm, + 33%). This is quite typical of a month of July when precipitation often manifests in the form of showers or even thunderstorms, even if this year we had rather small showers. ”
Now we just have to hope for an improvement in August. This should be the case from Monday 9th, with in particular two very beautiful days on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th, with 27 to 32 ° C expected.
