On October 8, you stated in our columns that the year 2024 was punctuated by “the absence of a long and beautiful period of very good weather” but that we found, at the same time, “things that do not go out of the norm “. Concretely, what does this mean? How do you describe this year 2024?
Stéven Tual, meteorologist: It was a bit miserable, especially in the summer. We did not experience any lasting sunshine, except in October. There were 1,765 hours of sunshine which symbolizes a deficit of approximately 5%. 961 mm of rain was recorded. This is a result around the norm of 943 mm per year.
It’s a “classic” year which brings together all the characteristics of the Breton climate: well-distributed rainfall, winter months with less sunshine, storms in autumn… Since 2019, we began to get used to the exceptional with, often, a season of the year very different from the norm. In 2024, it has been exceptionally classic.
The year got off to a flying start with a particularly rainy end to winter.
In fact, 128 mm of water fell in February (instead of an average of 82 mm), and 104 mm in March (instead of 66 mm). More generally, between February and May, it rained the equivalent of half a year in just four months. Temperature-wise, we were above normal. This is explained by strong low pressure influences and in particular atmospheric rivers coming from the Antilles.
Did the summer turn out to be so disastrous?
It looked like the climate we should normally have. June was pleasantly mild. We had a few cool mornings but above all 14% more sunshine than the norm. In July, nothing was out of the ordinary. The summer was neither humid nor subject to a lack of sunshine but, on the other hand, it was particularly cool (-0.5°C) on average compared to the norm). After 2012 and 2021, this is the third time in fifteen years that we have been this fresh.
Are there any exceptional days to remember?
Obviously. We can cite August 11, the hottest day with a thermometer at 33.3° on average. Conversely, it was on January 9 that it was the coldest with frosts at -4°C. We have to go back to February 28, 2018 to find such a cold day.
Autumn and winter were still subject to a few storms, what should we remember from this?
Depression Aitor in late September and Kirk in early October brought rain and classic unrest. We must especially remember the impact of the Caetano storm. Wind gusts of up to 123 km/h were also recorded.
Since the beginning of September, the period has been calm, gray, dull and a little depressing if we remove the period of agitation between October 5 and 24.
