Weather in October C. del Norte and C. francés

[eamann]

October weather C. del Norte and C. francés

I had planned to do the Camino del Norte at the beginning of last June (2022). For various reasons I had to postpone my departure until early September. At that point a family problem forced me to put off my departure until later in the month, when yet another unforeseen circumstance pushed my departure to the very end of the month.

By that time I had lost my enthusiasm and the prospect of shortening days and worsening weather in October decided me to stay at home. The weather forecast for the end of September for San Sebastian was for one day of rain after another...

Out of curiosity, I checked the weather each day for the first three weeks of October for a series of towns along the Camino del Norte and also along the Camino francés. To my surprise, the weather was not especially rainy on the Camino del Norte and on the Camino francés the temperatures were generally above 20°, sometimes nearer 30°, in the first half of the month.

The moral I draw from my experience is that we should not allow ourselves to be unduly influenced by weather forecasts, all the more so since the weather is becoming more unpredictable.

As someone has said elsewhere on the Forum, there is no bad weather, but pilgrims inadequately fitted out for the rain and cold.

I hope that my experience will help those prospective pilgrims who next year will be wondering whether it would be a good idea to start their walk in October.

 

[JabbaPapa]

2022 was a drought year, so the weather in October even in Galicia was unusually dry for the season, though the rains did start again there in the middle of the month. But outside Galicia, it has taken until about mid-November for them to get started.

This is unusual, though I was told up at Manjarín that it has been unusually dry and with late snow for a few years now.

Nevertheless, this is weather, and therefore unpredictable - - though I would suppose that wet conditions up on the Norte can be counted on more reliably.

So really, nobody can tell you what the weather conditions will be like on the Francès in October of next year.

 

[dougfitz]

@eamann, what a shame you missed the opportunity to walk.

Your story reminds me of the advice to travellers that one should pack for the climate, and dress for the weather. Your advice about the weather is probably equally applicable in spring when pilgrims might expect to face a broad range of weather conditions.

My pilgrimages on the Iberian peninsula have been in mid spring through to early summer, which had meant bitter cold, sweltering heat, fine days and thunderstorms. There has always been great advice on this forum for how to ensure one is well prepared for that with careful gear selection, layering, etc.

So while we cannot tell what the weather will be like next year, it is possible to be well prepared to face whatever gets tossed at us. Thank you for reminding us of that.

 

[LTfit]

I've been on the Norte on several occasions in early and mid June and mid October and surprisingly had the best weather in October. A Facebook friend posted this a few days agoAs you can see, several of these cities are on the Norte.

The coast is fickle, one just never knows.

Between the 2, my experience is that the Francés has better weather in October, less rain and warmer temperature.

 

[BiggBlue]

I set off from Irun on the 1st of October this year. And arrived in Santiago 34 days later.

During that time there were five days when it was wet and chilly, this was more frequent towards the end of the trip as I entered Galicia. In general, the Spanish forecast was fairly accurate in predicting weather conditions in the short term, but not in the long term.

I am originally from Scotland and grew up in a very wet environment where it could rain for days on end in the middle of the summer. There were two schools of thought regards walking in the rain, one was whatever happens you're going to get wet so make sure you stay warm by wearing Marino wool and nonsynthetic layers next to your skin. The other school of thought was you need to buy the best waterproof kit available.

This year in addition to my poncho I took a $300 Gore-Tex waterproof jacket. I still got wet.
If not from the rain then from the sweat/perspiration which is unable to circulate out due to the layers I was wearing.

As this was my fourth Camino, and having tried various combinations of kit to stay dry, I am now firmly of the opinion that a good strong golf umbrella I believe would probably for me be the best solution. I will let you know next year.

Regards waiting for the best time of year to go for weather. I think it's a little bit of a lottery, Pick your date and stick to it, whilst on the Norte I walked for a few days with a very nice fellow from Italy, who was walking it for the second time. He told me he had walked at five years previously where it
rained for 21 out of 33 days he was on the Camino.

 

[JerryStroebele]

I have walked on the del Norte 3 times in October. It rains. The later into October the more it rains, with wind. My solution is great rain gear -- mine is gore-tex jacket, rain kilt, tall gaiters, waterproof synthetic boots (LaSportiva) AND A SMALL UMBRELLA. I have carried a large umbrella which gives better protection but sometimes fighting the wind with the umbrella is just too much. The beauty of the umbrella is you can walk with the rain jacket hood down, neck open to breath cool air, hat off. And in merciless sun, you carry your own shade. This September on the Camino Frances I did see six other pilgrims carrying umbrellas, in rain and shine. I bring an expensive UV umbrella from the US but you can buy a regular umbrella in Spain for 6 to 21 euros. Buen Camino

 

[mario juan]

October weather C. del Norte and C. francés

I had planned to do the Camino del Norte at the beginning of last June (2022). For various reasons I had to postpone my departure until early September. At that point a family problem forced me to put off my departure until later in the month, when yet another unforeseen circumstance pushed my departure to the very end of the month.

By that time I had lost my enthusiasm and the prospect of shortening days and worsening weather in October decided me to stay at home. The weather forecast for the end of September for San Sebastian was for one day of rain after another...

Out of curiosity, I checked the weather each day for the first three weeks of October for a series of towns along the Camino del Norte and also along the Camino francés. To my surprise, the weather was not especially rainy on the Camino del Norte and on the Camino francés the temperatures were generally above 20°, sometimes nearer 30°, in the first half of the month.

The moral I draw from my experience is that we should not allow ourselves to be unduly influenced by weather forecasts, all the more so since the weather is becoming more unpredictable.

As someone has said elsewhere on the Forum, there is no bad weather, but pilgrims inadequately fitted out for the rain and cold.

I hope that my experience will help those prospective pilgrims who next year will be wondering whether it would be a good idea to start their walk in October.

I did the Norte this September/October.. I wore my walking trousers once then threw them away, shorts from then on.. obviously you might get rain but generally it was perfect for me..

 

[cardifflad52]

October weather C. del Norte and C. francés

I had planned to do the Camino del Norte at the beginning of last June (2022). For various reasons I had to postpone my departure until early September. At that point a family problem forced me to put off my departure until later in the month, when yet another unforeseen circumstance pushed my departure to the very end of the month.

By that time I had lost my enthusiasm and the prospect of shortening days and worsening weather in October decided me to stay at home. The weather forecast for the end of September for San Sebastian was for one day of rain after another...

Out of curiosity, I checked the weather each day for the first three weeks of October for a series of towns along the Camino del Norte and also along the Camino francés. To my surprise, the weather was not especially rainy on the Camino del Norte and on the Camino francés the temperatures were generally above 20°, sometimes nearer 30°, in the first half of the month.

The moral I draw from my experience is that we should not allow ourselves to be unduly influenced by weather forecasts, all the more so since the weather is becoming more unpredictable.

As someone has said elsewhere on the Forum, there is no bad weather, but pilgrims inadequately fitted out for the rain and cold.

I hope that my experience will help those prospective pilgrims who next year will be wondering whether it would be a good idea to start their walk in October.

Think to plan ahead with regards to the weather for next year one cannot for see but I can say that the Del Norte is known to have the same temperature as what we experience in the uk