Corsica Climate: When to go?

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The climate of Corsica is Mediterranean, characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, but this is due to the mountainous conformation of the island, which in several points exceeds two thousand meters in height. The Mediterranean climate characterizes the coastal strip of the island, while inland the climate varies with increasing altitude, up to alpine-type microclimates in the mountains, where frequent rainfall is recorded, and in winter the snow is persistent outside above 1,200-1,500 meters. Among the winds, the libeccio predominates, but the sirocco, tramontana and mistral also blow.

The temperatures vary with the altitude, but along the coast they are mild in winter and hot in summer, the western coast is, in summer, slightly cooler than the eastern one, in Ajaccio there are average minimum temperatures ranging between 3.9 °C in January and 16.5°C in August, while in Bastia the average minimum temperatures vary between 3.8°C in February and 18.8°C in August, the average maximum temperatures reach, in August, 28 2°C in Bastia and 27.7°C in Ajaccio, while the average maximum temperatures in January reach 12.1°C in Bastia and 13.3°C in Ajaccio.

Precipitation is higher along the eastern coast, in Bastia there is an annual average of 759 mm, while it is slightly lower along the western coast, in Ajaccio the annual average is 605 mm, in the interior it rains more, in the mountains record average annual values ranging between 1,000 mm and 1,300 mm.

The rainiest months are those in autumn, between October and December, with October being the rainiest month ever, the driest months are those between May and September. Snow appears in the Corsican mountains from December to March.

The sea water temperature of Corsica is above 20°C from June to October, with values in July, August and September between 23°C and 24°C.

WHEN TO GO TO CORSICA?

The best time to visit Corsica are the months of spring and summer, from April to September, which are the least rainy and hottest months.

CORSICA CLIMATE TABLES

AIACCIO (9 m)
Month	Average low (°C)	Average high (°C)	Rain (mm)
January	3,9	13,3	73
February	4,3	13,7	69
March	5,3	15,0	58
April	7,3	17,4	52
May	10,6	20,9	40
June	13,8	24,5	19
July	16,2	27,6	11
August	16,5	27,7	19
September	14,4	25,4	43
October	11,4	22,0	87
November	7,7	17,5	59
December	4,8	14,4	75
YEAR			605

BASTIA (12 m)
Month	Average low (°C)	Average high (°C)	Rain (mm)
January	4,3	12,1	60
February	3,8	12,7	90
March	5,4	14,3	78
April	7,7	16,5	62
May	12,1	21,0	43
June	16,0	25,4	33
July	18,2	27,7	11
August	18,8	28,2	39
September	15,4	24,3	48
October	12,1	20,4	106
November	8,2	16,0	92
December	5,4	13,2	92
YEAR			759

CORSICA SEA WATER TEMPERATURE

CORSICA
Month	Sea water Temperature (°C)
January	14
February	13
March	14
April	15
May	16
June	20
July	23
August	24
September	23
October	21
November	18
December	15

This article is also available in: Italian