Climate of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom straddles the higher mid-latitudes between 49° and 61°N on the western seaboard of Europe. Since the UK is always in or close to the path of the polar front jet stream, frequent changes in pressure and unsettled weather are typical. Many types of weather can be experienced in a single day. The basic climate of the UK annually is wet and cool in winter, spring, and autumn with frequent cloudy skies, and drier and warmer in summer.
The climate in the United Kingdom is defined as a humid temperate oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system, a classification it shares with most of north-west Europe. Regional climates are influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and latitude. Northern Ireland, Wales and western parts of England and Scotland are generally the mildest, wettest, and windiest regions of the UK, being closest to the Atlantic Ocean, and temperature ranges there are seldom extreme. Eastern areas are drier and less windy. Northern areas are generally cooler and wetter and have slightly larger temperature ranges than southern areas, which are generally warmer and drier. The south of England is the least exposed to polar air masses from the north, so winters are the least cold, though heavy overcast conditions are common. Summer temperatures in the south of England are cool and range from.
If the air masses are strong enough in their respective areas during the summer, there can sometimes be a large difference in temperature between the far north of Scotland and the south-east of England – often a difference of 10–15 °C but sometimes as much as 20 °C or more.
England
Averages
England generally has low maximum temperatures year round. England is also sunnier throughout the year than Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the sunniest month is July, with an average of 193.5 hours. It rains on fewer days every month throughout the year than the rest of the UK, and rainfall totals are less in every month, with the driest month, May, averaging. The climate of south-west England displays a seasonal temperature variation, although it is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom with milder winters. Gales are less common in England compared to Scotland; however, on some occasions, there can be strong winds, and rarely, the non-tropical remains of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms. Some events such as the Great Storm of 1987 occurred near the UK and caused damage in England.Rare summer heatwaves of 28 °C+ occur on occasion, but sustained is uncommon, due to the high latitude and cool maritime climate. London is vulnerable to climate change, and there is increasing concern among hydrological experts that London households may run out of water before 2050.
Extremes
The highest temperature recorded in England occurred on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby, Lincolnshire. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England occurred on 10 January 1982 in Newport, Shropshire.Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is warmer than Scotland throughout the year. Maximum temperatures are milder than in Wales from December to April, and milder than in England from December to February, but Northern Ireland is cooler during the rest of the year. Sunshine totals in every month are more than those of Scotland, but less than those of the rest of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is drier and has fewer rainy days than Scotland throughout the year, except in May, when it rains on more days. Northern Ireland is also drier than Wales in every month, yet it rains on more days. The rainiest month is January, when 17.8 days have more than of rain on average.Below is a list of record temperatures for Northern Ireland, according to the UK Met Office. Both the highest and the lowest temperatures were set in Castlederg in County Tyrone.
Scotland
is generally cool compared to the rest of the UK. In the lowlands, an oceanic climate prevails, while in the mountains and in parts of Shetland, the summers get cool enough for the climate to be classified as subpolar oceanic. As a whole, Scotland has average minimum temperatures just above zero in winter months and rather cool average highs of in summer. The Central Lowlands have higher temperatures during the summer than any other part of Scotland, and have also broken some records for the whole of the UK. Aviemore is considered one of the coldest inhabited places, with its inland location and an altitude of about. The wettest month in Scotland is January; most months are wetter than other parts of the UK, except for the late spring to early autumn months.Below is a list of record temperatures for Scotland, according to the UK Met Office.
Wales
has warmer temperatures throughout the year than Northern Ireland and Scotland and has milder winter minima than England, but cooler winter maxima than Northern Ireland. Wales is wetter throughout the year than Northern Ireland and England, but has fewer rainy days than Northern Ireland; meaning that rainfall tends to be more intense. Wales is also drier than Scotland in every month apart from May, June and December, and there are fewer days with rain than in Scotland. Sunshine totals throughout the year are more than that of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but less than that of neighbouring England. May is the sunniest month, averaging 186.8 hours. The south-western coast is the sunniest part of Wales, averaging over 1700 hours of sunshine annually, with Tenby, Pembrokeshire, its sunniest town. The dullest time of year is between November and January and the sunniest between May and August. The least sunny areas are the mountains, some parts of which average less than 1200 hours of sunshine annually. The prevailing wind is south-westerly. Coastal areas are the windiest, gales occur most often during winter, on average between 15 and 30 days each year, depending on location. Inland, gales average fewer than six days annually. Wales experiences long summer days and short winter days result of northerly latitudes. Aberystwyth, at the midpoint of the country's west coast, has nearly 17 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. Daylight at midwinter there falls to just over seven and a half hours.The country's wide geographic variations cause localised differences in sunshine, rainfall and temperature. Average annual coastal temperatures reach and in low lying inland areas, lower. It becomes cooler at higher altitudes; annual temperatures decrease on average approximately each of altitude. Consequently, the higher parts of Snowdonia experience average annual temperatures of. Temperatures in Wales remain higher than would otherwise be expected at its latitude because of the North Atlantic Drift, a branch of the Gulf Stream. The ocean current, bringing warmer water to northerly latitudes, has a similar effect on most of north-west Europe. As well as its influence on Wales' coastal areas, air warmed by the Gulf Stream blows further inland with the prevailing winds. At low elevations, summers tend to be warm and sunny. Average maximum temperatures range between. Winters tend to be fairly wet, rainfall is excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing. Spring and autumn feel quite similar and the temperatures tend to stay above – also the average annual daytime temperature. Rainfall patterns show significant variation. The further west, the higher the expected rainfall; up to 40 per cent more. At low elevations, rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although the showers tend to be shorter in summer. The uplands of Wales have most rain, normally more than 50 days of rain during the winter months, falling to around 35 rainy days during the summer months. Annual rainfall in Snowdonia averages between and . The likelihood is that it will fall as sleet or snow when the temperature falls below and snow tends to be lying on the ground there for an average of 30 days a year. Snow falls several times each winter in inland areas but is relatively uncommon around the coast. Average annual rainfall in those areas can be less than.
Below is a list of record temperatures for Wales, according to the UK Met Office.
Seasons
Spring
Spring is the period from March to May. Spring is generally a calm, cool season, particularly because the Atlantic has lost much of its heat throughout the autumn and winter. As the sun rises higher in the sky and the days get longer, temperatures slowly rise, but the solar effect is mitigated somewhat by the effect of the cool ocean waters and westerly winds that blow across them. There is a chance of snow earlier in the season when temperatures are colder; often in March.Mean temperatures in Spring are markedly influenced by latitude. Most of Scotland and the mountains of Wales and northern England are the coolest areas of the UK, with average temperatures ranging from. The southern half of England experiences the warmest spring temperatures of between.
Spring mean temperatures have become higher during the 2000s and the 2010s. The warmest spring on record was 2017 with a mean temperature for the UK of 9.12C. The coldest spring on record was in 1891 with a mean temperature of 5.42C.
The sunniest spring on record for the UK was in 2020 with 626.0 hours recorded on average across the UK. Conversely, the dullest spring on record for the UK was in 1983 with an average of 322.3 hours of sunshine across the UK.
The wettest spring on record for the UK was in 1947 with 332.4mm of precipitation falling on average across the UK. The driest spring on record for the UK was in 1893 with just 107.4mm of precipitation falling on average across the UK.
Summer
Summer lasts from June to August and is the warmest and usually the sunniest season. There can be wide local variations in rainfall totals due to localised thundershowers. These thundershowers mainly occur in southern, eastern, and central England and are less frequent and severe in the north and west. Greater London, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk see the most thunderstorms during the summer. The South West, the Midlands, Northern England, Wales and Scotland get thunderstorms too, but they are generally less frequent and severe. Sometimes during the summer months, a weather pattern called the Spanish Plume forms over the country, bringing very hot weather. This can cause thunderstorms that can be severe in the South West and South East and get weaker as they go north.Drought has been noted as a recurring feature.
The warmest summer on record for the UK was in 2018 with a mean temperature of 15.76 °C across the UK. Conversely, the coldest summer on record for the UK was in 1922 with a mean temperature of 12.24 °C. Other notable cool summers include 1920, 1954, 1956, 1962, 1965 and 1972.
The sunniest summer on record for the UK was in 1976 with 672.1 hours of sunshine recorded across the UK. Conversely, the dullest summer on record for the UK was in 1954 with just 372.7 hours of sunshine recorded on average across the UK.
The wettest summer on record for the UK was in 1879 with an average of 399.9mm precipitation across the UK. Conversely, the driest summer on record for the UK was in 1995 with just 105.9mm of precipitation recorded on average across the UK.