diff --git a/climate.py b/climate.py
index 456bf4a..8be4633 100644
--- a/climate.py
+++ b/climate.py
@@ -617,9 +617,17 @@ def _load_recent_forecast(cell: dict) -> pl.DataFrame:
         # the forecast / day-ahead views working in a degraded form.
         try:
             df = _fetch_forecast_metno(cell)
-        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - backup unavailable too; surface the original
-            # Classify the original Open-Meteo rate limit so callers get the typed
-            # error (the archive path classifies its own inside _load_history).
+        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - backup unavailable too
+            # Last resort: serve the stale cache if we have one. An hours-old bundle
+            # (which still carries the recent observed days MET Norway lacks) beats a
+            # hard failure, mirroring _load_history's stale-serve. Return WITHOUT
+            # rewriting it, so its mtime stays old and the next request still retries
+            # upstream first rather than serving this as if it were fresh.
+            if os.path.exists(path):
+                return _with_doy(_normalize_read(pl.read_parquet(path)))
+            # No cache either: surface the original error, classifying an Open-Meteo
+            # rate limit as the typed, daily-aware WeatherUnavailable (the archive
+            # path classifies its own inside _load_history).
             if is_rate_limit(e):
                 daily = "daily" in _rate_limit_reason(e).lower()
                 raise WeatherUnavailable(limit_message(daily), daily=daily) from e
diff --git a/tests/test_climate.py b/tests/test_climate.py
index 857dab0..283abe3 100644
--- a/tests/test_climate.py
+++ b/tests/test_climate.py
@@ -131,6 +131,30 @@ def test_recent_forecast_falls_back_to_metno(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     assert len(df) == 2 and df["date"].max() == datetime.date(2026, 7, 17)
 
 
+def test_recent_forecast_serves_stale_cache_when_all_sources_fail(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """With Open-Meteo AND MET Norway both down, an existing (stale) cache is served
+    rather than failing — and it is NOT rewritten, so its mtime stays old and the
+    next request still retries upstream first."""
+    import os
+    import time
+    monkeypatch.setattr(climate, "CACHE_DIR", str(tmp_path))
+    cell = {"id": "stale_cell", "center_lat": 47.6, "center_lon": -122.3}
+    # Seed an rf cache, then age it well past the TTL so it counts as stale.
+    stale = climate._to_frame(_om_daily())
+    path = climate._rf_cache_path(cell["id"])
+    climate._write_cache(stale, path)
+    old = time.time() - (climate.FORECAST_TTL_HOURS + 5) * 3600
+    os.utime(path, (old, old))
+
+    def all_down(url, params, timeout, *, phase, headers=None, attempts=climate.MAX_ATTEMPTS):
+        raise RuntimeError(f"{phase} down")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(climate, "_request", all_down)
+
+    df = climate._load_recent_forecast(cell)
+    assert df.height == stale.height                    # served the stale cache
+    assert abs(os.path.getmtime(path) - old) < 2        # not rewritten (mtime unchanged)
+
+
 def test_om_daily_params_carries_the_window():
     cell = {"center_lat": 47.6, "center_lon": -122.3}
     p = climate._om_daily_params(cell, start_date="2026-01-01", end_date="2026-02-01")