Weather Overview for Leeds

Leeds has gone through much change over the years and now rivals Manchester as the ‘capital of the North.’ It is a vibrant city with a thriving student population, coveted shopping, buzzing nightlife and a large array of festivals and events that run throughout the year. It is also a highly successful business region.

Like all of Britain, Leeds is home to a temperate maritime climate. All four seasons occur but there are no extremes of temperature and rainfall is moderate throughout the year. Changeability and unpredictability are dominant features of the climate.

The city actually sits in the mini rain shadow of the low lying Pennines mountain range (probably better described as ‘hills’) so it does, on average, receiver less rainfall than many British cities. So while an umbrella is going to be of use year round, you’ll have to put it up a bit less.

From May through until September is the best period in which to visit. The days are a mix of sunny and warm, overcast and drizzly. But on the whole the weather is fairly pleasant. Due to the city’s northerly location it sees much cooler temperatures than in the south. Winters get cold and summers are rarely hot.

Leeds has the second largest student population outside of London; students make up of 55,531 in a population of 680,722! In the summer and Christmas holidays the students leave the city but during term time the bars are packed with scruffy-haired binge drinkers with loans to burn (i.e. the envy of the land).

Summers in Leeds can see temperatures rise to 25°C in the peak summer months of July and August. This pleases the thousands of festival goers attending the annual Leeds Festival, a popular music festival held on August Bank Holiday weekend (22-24^th) in Braham Park. While you can expect a few showers throughout the festival, 2007 saw revellers enjoy temperatures in the mid to high 20’s and not a drop of rain. 2006 saw rain on the last day and mild conditions throughout the other 3 days.

The height of summer generally sees average highs of 18°C, but temperatures in the 20’s are often enjoyed. Though rainfall does occur year round, it is slightly less frequent in summer; Leeds in fact is one of the driest summer cities in all of Europe. While rain may fall on a few days throughout summer, the showers are usually brief.

Autumn sees much the same weather as spring. March and November each see daily averages of about 5°C, while May and September see daily averages of 10°C to 12°C and highs of 13°C to 15°C.

Due to its northerly position, winters in Leeds can get very cold. The average daily temperature throughout winter is about 3°C, with the average minimum sitting at 1°C. The winter months are cold, dark and wet and have a tendency to feel very long. Heavy frost can occur throughout January and February. Rainfall is at its highest in January, but drops by an average of 20 mm by February.

Spring sees a return of green to the city as temperatures rise and the sun returns. The average high temperature creeps to 7°C in March, 10°C in April and 13°C in May. Sunshine levels leap up to 4 hours per day in March, 5 in April and the annual maximum of 6 in May. Rainfall lessens slightly.