Geography
[edit]
The Château Fort in Lourdes
Lourdes is located in southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains near the prime meridian. It is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of Aneto, Montaigu, and Vignemale (3,298 m or 10,820 ft), while around the town there are three summits reaching up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft) which are known as the Béout, the Petit Jer (with its three crosses) and the Grand Jer (with its single cross). The Grand Jer is accessible via the funicular railway of the Pic du Jer. The Béout was once accessible by cable car, although this has fallen into disrepair. A pavilion is still visible on the summit.
Lourdes lies at an elevation of 420 m (1,380 ft) and in a central position through which runs the fast-flowing river Gave de Pau from the south, coming from its source at Gavarnie; into it flow several smaller rivers from Barèges and Cauterets. The Gave then branches off to the west towards the Béarn, running past the banks of the Grotto and on downstream to Pau and then Biarritz.
On land bordered by a loop of the Gave de Pau is an outcrop of rock called Massabielle (from masse vieille: "old mass"). On the northern aspect of this rock, near the riverbank, is a naturally occurring, irregularly shaped shallow cave or grotto, in which the apparitions of 1858 took place.
Climate[edit]
The climate of Lourdes, due to the proximity of the city to the Atlantic, is oceanic (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification). It is quite mild for most of the year with moderate rainfall in summer and quite high rainfall in winter – about 120 rainy days and more than 1,000 mm (39 in) of average annual precipitation. The summers are warm, the autumn and spring mild, while winter is cool. Because of the proximity of the city to the Pyrenees, Lourdes, like other areas of the Pyrenean Piedmont, however, can be affected in winter by sporadic waves of frost: in January 1985 the thermometer marked -17° Fahrenheit, -27 °C (historical record from 1934 to the present). A summer temperature of 102 °F, 39 °C, was recorded in August 2003. The reference station of Lourdes is to Tarbes-Ossun-Lourdes, located approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) from the town, in the airport area of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées, 360 m.
Stat. of Tarbes (1982–2013)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Tp. min. avg (°C)
1,0
1,5
3,6
5,7
9,6
12,9
15,0
15,0
12,0
8,7
4,4
1,8
7,7
Tp. avg (°C)
5,7
6,4
8,9
10,8
14,6
17,9
20,1
20,2
17,5
14,0
9,1
6,5
12,7
Tp. max. avg (°C)
10,3
11,2
14,2
15,9
19,6
22,8
25,2
25,3
22,9
19,2
13,7
11,1
17,7
Frost days
10,88
9,69
4,78
1,06
0
0
0
0
0
0,31
4,1
9,74
40,34
Precipitation (mm)
95.3
83.0
85.3
110.7
114.2
78.4
57.7
66.0
72.3
84.3
103.5
92.0
1041.8
Rainy days
10,59
9,5
10,16
12,53
12,91
9,75
7,19
8,47
8,53
10,28
10,16
10,29
120,35
Climate data for Lourdes (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1881−2011)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
24.7(76.5)
27.0(80.6)
30.0(86.0)
32.0(89.6)
34.6(94.3)
41.0(105.8)
39.9(103.8)
40.5(104.9)
37.0(98.6)
34.0(93.2)
28.0(82.4)
26.0(78.8)
41.0(105.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
11.0(51.8)
12.3(54.1)
15.4(59.7)
17.1(62.8)
20.7(69.3)
23.8(74.8)
26.1(79.0)
26.3(79.3)
23.7(74.7)
19.8(67.6)
14.4(57.9)
11.6(52.9)
18.5(65.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)
6.3(43.3)
7.3(45.1)
10.0(50.0)
11.7(53.1)
15.3(59.5)
18.4(65.1)
20.6(69.1)
20.7(69.3)
18.0(64.4)
14.6(58.3)
9.6(49.3)
7.0(44.6)
13.3(55.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
1.5(34.7)
2.3(36.1)
4.5(40.1)
6.3(43.3)
9.9(49.8)
13.1(55.6)
15.1(59.2)
15.2(59.4)
12.4(54.3)
9.4(48.9)
4.8(40.6)
2.3(36.1)
8.1(46.6)
Record low °C (°F)
−18.2(−0.8)
−16.5(2.3)
−12.0(10.4)
−4.9(23.2)
−3.8(25.2)
1.0(33.8)
0.5(32.9)
1.5(34.7)
−0.1(31.8)
−4.0(24.8)
−9.9(14.2)
−17.0(1.4)
−18.2(−0.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
135.1(5.32)
109.5(4.31)
120.7(4.75)
149.9(5.90)
139.6(5.50)
103.9(4.09)
82.5(3.25)
87.1(3.43)
94.9(3.74)
121.9(4.80)
145.5(5.73)
136.1(5.36)
1,426.7(56.17)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)
12.4
11.6
12.0
14.3
15.0
11.9
10.8
10.7
10.3
12.3
12.4
12.2
146.1
Source: Météo-France
