The department of Lozère, Mende in particular, benefit from insolation (or sunlight) similar to that of Toulouse with approximately 2,069 hours of sunshine per year. The city, away from the mountains that surround it, has a more protected climate than the highlands of Gévaudan: So, average temperatures oscillate between and . With respect to annual precipitation, data for the Lozère is between , depending on the exposure of the regions, with up to 50 days of snow per year. Between 1971 and 2000, monthly rainfall ranged from (March) and (September). In more detail, here are some statements in Mende records since 1985: Routes and transportation Mende is located in the centre of the Lozère department and therefore centralises the roads. The city has rail and air access, but the Lot is not navigable (too shallow) as with all the rivers of the department (except for recreational canoeing, or in rare exceptions for the transport of people such as the crossing of the Tarn towards La Malène). Road network Mende is located on the , linking Lyon and Toulouse. The road comes from Balsièges to the west and Badaroux to the east. This axis can be reached easily. Haute-Loire and Ardèche are to the east, via Langogne and Aveyron is to the west via La Canourgue-Banassac, as well as the A75 autoroute. A road doubling project is underway in the department, bypassing Mende from the north. This doubling is however a long project (1993), having had several outlines and some opposition. The project was finally abandoned in October 2012 making Lozère a department without draft dual carriageways on RN 88. Indeed, its neighbours Aveyron and Tarn continue their projects of dual carriageways between Rodez and Toulouse with all expected to be commissioned in December 2015. The work of the Rodez - Séverac section should be completed by the end of 2019. The same will be the case for Haute-Loire, which continues its road access. However, the workarounds of Mende and Langogne are budgeted. These projects in adjacent departments will reach major cities nearby to Mende (Rodez, Albi, Toulouse, Le Puy and even Lyon). Finally, the economic impact or the absence of dual carriageways in Lozere must be assessed in the medium and long term. Furthermore, a viaduct (the Rieucros Viaduct) commissioned in December 2009 will be used to ensure a first bypass of Mende. It connects the industrial area of the