Today's weather for Leeds, United Kingdom13th May 2008 04:20

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Weather Overview for Leeds

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

Like many British cities Leeds is home to changeable weather conditions. Leeds’ climate could be best characterized by saying it is temperate and changeable. Rain is consistent throughout the year, as are bright sunny days.

The young vibrant city however does sit in the rain shadow of the low lying Pennines mountain range (probably better described as ‘hills’) so it does, on average, receiver less rainfall than British cities, and sees less summer rainfall than many European cities. So while an umbrella is going to of use, you wont expect as frequent and heavy rain that you will in other parts of the country.

May through until September is the best months to visit the northern city. The weather is pleasant the days are a mix of sunny and bright with overcast and drizzley, but on the whole the weather is fairly pleasant. Due to the city’s northerly location it experiences more weather extremes than, say, London which lies in the south. Winters can get chilly and summers are generally warm and mild.

Spring is a popular tourist month in Leeds as the season sees the many parks and grass lands come alive with colours as the grass returns to green, flowers blossom and trees bloom.

Leeds has the second largest student population outside London, with a population of 680,722 student make up of 55,531 of these! So while the nightlife and bars are always buzzing with students, visiting during March/April will see the students flee the town as their enjoy their Easter breaks.

Autumn sees much the same weather as Spring. March and November each see daily averages of about 5 degrees, while the months that hug Summer (May and September) see daily averages of 10 to 12 degrees and highs of 13 to 15 degrees.

Summers in Leeds can see temperatures rise to 25 degrees in the peak summer during the months of July and August. This proves beneficial for festival goers attending the annual Leeds Festival, a popular music festival held on August Bank Holiday (22-24^th) weekend in Braham Park. While you can generally expect a few showers throughout the festival, 2007 saw revelers 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 remaining 3 days.

The height of summer generally sees average highs of 18 degrees, but temperatures in the 20’s are often enjoyed. Though rainfall does occur year round, it weens off in Summer and as previously mentioned, 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 will be very brief and very light.

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

On the whole, Leeds plays host to a pretty favorable climate, considering its location in northern England!

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