Weather in Limousin

[Bonny Lass]

Hello - I'm new to this Forum, so here goes . . .

We are considering moving to the Limousin and have been reading, researching and visiting for the past few months, and planning another visit this summer to try to move our decision along.  We are interested in knowing what it's like to live in a particular area year-round, weather-wise particularly.  We'd be reluctant to exchange our North East (England) weather for something the same or very similar in France (even with all the other advantages).  We'd be grateful for any information especially around the following areas:

south west of Limoges

Aubusson area

Arnac Pompadour area

Argentat (and towards the Cantal)

Any other information generally on living, cultural life, etc (anything really!) would be most appreciated.  A bientôt!

 

[cassis]

Unlikely to be lower than NE England in terms of temperature in summer but you could be unpleasantly surprised in winter.  Also depends how hot and sweaty you like it in summer.

For a rough guide to climate you can go to this page and click on the department(s) that interest you.

http://www.meteofrance.com/FR/climat/france.jsp

None of those places can match the beaches of Northumberland on a sunny day.

[lizzy h]

hot in the summer mild in the winter if you lead a busy life and work its okay in the Limousin but can be very boring and lonely if not ,all depends what you want out of life,I love it here in the summer,but wish I was back in the northeast in the winter , I also miss the sea very much, if I did not have the kids it would be def back home for me, I miss the northeast very much, think seriously about it, you may have caught me on a bad day,but its very differant living here to holidaying here, but you do get used after a while,if you are used to socialising alot going to pubs and lots of shops and various entertainments etc the limousin may not be for you, but if its a quiet life (and I mean quiet) well good luck!

[Patf]

Another one here who misses the Northumberland beaches and sea swimming [:(] The surprising thing about the weather in France, as Cassis mentioned, is that winter can be colder than even NE England, especially at night. And we are way down south near the Pyrenees.

[krusty]

cold nights yes .....but what do you do at night ...me ...sleep

then its blue sky days .....I  love it ....only been here two years , but would not go back to the UK.

[Montcigoux]

Hi, I lived south west of Limoges and still have relatives living around Chalus.  One thing to check is the height from sea level of the property you are considering as this makes a big difference to the local temperature. The higher it is the colder it will be. I bought a second property only 40 minutes further south of my property near Chalus located south of Thiviers in the north Dordogne and was amazed at how much warmer it was all year round. I realised that in fact that the drive to the new property from my relatives who still live around Chalus was a long slow drop in height. In summary though the diffeences in weather are as follows:

The Limousin has a more continental climate with less influence from the Gulf Stream compared to the UK. The winters are shorter and  can be colder even than Newcastle or Hdrian's wall (an area I know quite well) and the summers are longer and hotter. I have personally experienced days at -14 C in the Haute Vienne winter when my water supply froze. The south west of Limoges area is pretty wet, Chalus is one of the wettest areas. In some years you get very severe and frequent thunderstorms in the summer. These are really prolonged and very noisy ( in the middle of the night)and also can take out your electric supply and a friend of mine actually had lightening inside her house.  These really are a different expereince to thunderstorms in the UK. Make sure you protect your computer.

The summers in the Limousin are generally longer and when it heats up the light and the sun is stronger and much hotter than anything you will experience in the North East or in the South of England where I have also lived. Having a swimming pool is definitely worth while. Bear in mind that for milky english complexions and especially for children you will need extra sun protection. There can also be suprisingly warm and sunny Februaries and warm sunny Octobers.  Around Limoges there can also be prolonged ,continuous weeks of very lowering depressing cloudy wet weather in the late spring and early sumer like in 2002. The one thing that you can be sure of is that the weather is changeable like the UK with no year being like another so you can't really generalise. Around the Chalus area they have also had a couple of minor hurricanes which have damaged trees in the last couple of years. Snow in winter is not very frequent about the same or less than the UK. In a good year you will also get a lot of sunshine in the winter even though it will be cold.

So to sum up for the winter you will need either central heating or woodburners that will stay in overnight. Please note that not all French woodburners will stay in overnight so check. If without entral heating your house needs to be suitable for the heat from the woodburner to spread around the house ie fairly open plan. I always thought that in the typical Limousin house with thick stone walls that an Aga would have been ideal. Not all garden plants will survive the cold winters and hot sun if brought over from the UK.

I fly between Limoges and UK airports pretty regularly and my general experience is to leave a cloudy damp England behind and step off the plane at Limoges into sunshine even in the winter. You can't beat that experience.

 

 

[breizh]

Currently we're living to the SW of Limoges. Try this local ex-pat website for good local info http://www.pontnoir.com/.

[sackville]

Sorry to be picky but either your location is out of date or Creuse has been moved. It it to the east of Limoges

[breizh]

Definitely not being picky, me being stupid and rushing. Let's move Creuse back to where it should be----East of Limoges!!!

 

[krusty]

Well done Montcigoux .....what a concise view of the weather around Limoges .

[Bonny Lass]

Thanks for all the replies and useful information and sites.  Yes, we do have the most beautiful beaches in Northumberland, even though you might find yourself lost in a sea fret!

More views and opinions still welcome.  A la prochaine fois!

 

 

[bigears]

hi

We have a house 40 ish km north of Lomoges.  Our altitude is just short of 400m.  My brother is SE of Argentat at almost 700m, its  2 hour drive from me.  He has a much harsher winter climate, so take the previous comments on altitude seriously.  I've seen -15 C here, but never much snow.  My family were nothumberland farmers, Its a lovely area of england.  French hamlet life can be very quiet for some, you can always choose to live in a town.  Argentat itself is a lovely place, with the river. and reasonable prices.  Know your requirements and do your research.  We could not afford a country property in northumberland, north of morpeth, we bought one here 7 years ago for pocket money.  I personally like some of the countryside and hamlets around Les Monts de Blond.  Good luck.

[hoverfrog]

we're East of Limoges, at 500'. We have friends 10 mins away at 600' who have different weather to us!

We've had -20, +40, 60cms of snow, torrential rain and golf-ball sized hail.

On the whole the weather is never boring, does everything to extremes, and is never the same 2 years running.

Going to/from Limoges we find the weather always changes at Masleon - that's the altitude effect again!

The thunderstorms can be dramatic - they're usually followed by an increase in demand for new modems :)

[cassis]

Anyone see last night's TV weather forecasts for this weekend?  Looked awful across most of France, including here.  Yet it's been warm and sunny all day today.  Never trust a French meteorologist.  Total pants.

[dr orloff]

We're near hoverfrog.  Every single year the locals tell us the weather has been exceptional - an exceptionally cold winter followed by an exceptionally mild one.  Exceptionally hot in the summer, then exceptionally cold and wet.   There's only one certainty and that is the weather is unpredictable.  You can have a barbecue in February and a cosy night by the fire in August.   

[hoverfrog]

funnily enough we did light the fire last August - and had a BBQ at the beginning of March!

The méteo was spot on today - thunderstorms this evening.

[bigears]

hi

Being just north of Limoges, we seem to be on the edge of many weather systems.  The meteo on the Internet that I check everyday is often wrong.  For better weather go south, but not south and east.  Had a frost again last night.

[hoverfrog]

I agree totlly with that - our weather (especially in the winter) is usually the same as Brive, rather than Tulle (closer) or even Eymoutiers (just a few miles away!)

According to Météo France there are 8 micro-climates in Limousin. It's therefore difficult to know what it will be like anywhere! Funnily enough, Radio Bleu Limousin are generally not far off the mark :)