Guide to the Seasons and Climate Within the UK
Weather of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Jun 19, 2009
The islands of Great Britain are located between the latitudes of 50 to 60 degrees north, the same as Quebec and parts of Siberia, but the climate is tempered by the Gulf Stream, an Atlantic current that runs north from the Caribbean. For this reason, Britain’s climate is described as temperate rather than sub-Arctic. Such a climate is featured by four distinct seasons with warm humid summers and cool winters. Being surrounded by water and located at the crux of major air masses constantly vying for domination, Britain’s weather is always high upon the topic list.
British Rainfall
Rain is a major feature of Britain, being the target of frequent Atlantic depressions drifting in from the west. A depression is a low pressure system fueled by the meeting of air masses with sufficient differences in temperature and/or humidity to produce windy, cloudy and rainy weather. Much of Britain's precipitation is attributed to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
Britain receives on average between 20 to 35 inches (51 to 89 cm) of rain per year. But the mountainous regions of northwest Scotland, Ireland, the Lake District and Wales will receive as much as 60 inches (152 cm) and even up to 200 inches (508 cm) in certain areas. These places are some of the wettest in Europe. These regions excepted, the four quarters of mainland Britain are described as: south slightly warmer than the north, and the east as slightly drier than the west.
The Seasonal Weather in Britain
Being temperate, Britain experiences four distinct seasons. The classic cycle is:
- Warm summers with settled spells broken by occasional thunderstorms and longer periods of rain.
- Mild autumns with settled spells, but also with increasing chances of cyclones from the Atlantic.
- Cool winters with icy settled spells, but also with rain and occasional snowy showers, sometimes turning into blizzard conditions.
- Mild springs with settled spells intermixed with blustery showers and changeable weather.
However, Autumn-like conditions can descend in mid July; hot weather can extend into October, the so-called “Indian Summer.” Spring can be bitterly cold and certain parts of Britain will see no snow at all in winter.
British Weather Extremes
When extreme weather occurs on Britain, it is on diverse themes, for example:
- Hose pipe bans of 1976 imposed in reaction to a 15-month spell of lower than average rainfall that culminated in drought and temperatures that soared up to 30 °C (86 °F) for weeks.
- The storm of 1987 that tore up southern England with gusts of up to 115 mph (185 kph)
- The bitterly cold winter of 1982 that saw temperatures plummet to –27.2 °C (16.96 °F) colder than Continental Europe at the time.
- The summer of 2003 that saw temperatures soar to 38.5 °C (101 °F), the highest on record.
- The widespread floods of 2007 caused by the highest summer rainfall on record. June alone recorded 5.5 inches, (14 cm) or more, two to three times its average. (Figures from the Met Office. See references below.)
Average Rainfall, Temperature and Sunshine of the UK
Barricaded on all sides by starkly contrasting air masses, the climate extremes of Britain have many faces, but Britain’s weather is normally less remarkable. The following summarizing data have been collated from weather stations in London in the Southeast of England over a thirty-year period. It is worth noting that although the climate of Great Britain at any particular time of year varies little over the country, the four quarters and the mountainous regions will vary from each other, as previously described.
The hours of sunshine expected will vary between 1 per day in January, through to 6 or 7 per day in June. The average monthly temperature will vary between 2 to 6 °C (35 to 43 °F) in January to 14 to 22 °C (57 to 72 °F) in July. Average monthly rainfall will vary between 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) to 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) in any month. The air humidity will vary between 55 and 85%.
References and Useful Links
E A Pearce and C G Smith, The Hutchinson World Weather Guide New Edition, Helicon Publishing Limited: Oxford, 2000
William J Burroughs, et al., Weather the Ultimate Guide to the Elements, HarperCollins: London, 1996
“Summer Hot and Summer Even Hotter in 1976”, Met Office online report, 16 June 2009
"Great Storm of 1987 Then, Now and Future" Met Office online report, 16 June 2009
"Coldest Winter for a Decade" Met Office online report, 25 February 2009
"June 2007 Record Rainfall" Met Office online report, 16 June 2009
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