France weather is marked by significant climate variations, as France is a big country and its regions have considerable differences in altitude.  Although most of northern and western France is quite flat, there are some high mountain regions in the south and east, which rise to over 1,800 m in its southern and central parts.  The weather is quite variable throughout France, at all times of the year, except the along the Mediterranean coast, where the summers are usually settled, with consistent warm and sunny weather.

France is divided into five climatic regions.

Southwestern France weather has a Mediterranean climate and is warmer than the north.  The winters are usually mild, with cold weather extremes.  The summers are quite warmer and sunnier than northern France, and they can be quite rainy.

Northern and northwestern France weather is influenced by the Atlantic disturbances and it has a maritime weather, rather similar to that of the UK.  The winters are normally mild, with infrequent snow and frost, and regular rainfall throughout the year. The summers are fairly warm, with hardly any heat extremes. 

Central and eastern France weather, have a more continental climate, as they are not affected by the sea.  The winters are cold, with occasional frost and snow, and the summers are moderately warm.  Rainfall is generally low and tends to decrease during summer when mostly thunderstorms occur. 
The Mediterranean Coast and Corsica enjoy warm and sometimes hot and dry summers.  This area is not very rainy, and most of the precipitation comes in thunderstorms.  Winter weather is generally mild and sunny, however is often disrupted by a northerly wind called the mistral.

The high mountain areas have a different kind of weather, with heavier precipitation, and thus most of it occurs in snow.  These areas are the wettest and coldest regions of France.   During the summer frequent and sudden clouds occur on the peaks of the mountains.  In winter, France weather is quite changeable, with mountains rising into clear blue skies and the valleys covered in cloud and fog. Frosts occur in settled mild weather in the valley regions during winter.

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