Today's weather for London, United Kingdom9th Nov 2009 02:50

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Weather Overview for London

London has a temperate maritime climate with all four seasons and no extremes of temperature. However, it has a microclimate knows as an ‘urban heat island’. The mass of heated buildings and people result in temperatures that are a couple of degrees warmer than outside of the city. As a result, London is one the warmest places in the UK.

Contrary to popular belief, the average annual rainfall in London is not particularly high – Sydney, for example has higher annual rainfall. It’s just that there are a high number of those grey drizzly days… Total rainfall may not be that high, but the number of ‘rainy days’ is.

Weather can vary greatly from year to year; you might get a particularly cold winter, or a particularly wet summer, or a very hot one. That’s the thing: if you come to visit London you just don’t quite know what you’re going to get. Day to day and moment to moment conditions are also highly changeable and hard to predict.

Summer weather: June – Mid September

The best way to describe a London summer is unpredictable. You should be prepared for all eventualities. You could get a week of continuous rain or, just as likely, a week of glorious sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s. It’s true that a good summer’s day in London is hard to beat, but this good summer weather is notoriously unreliable. Perhaps this unpredictability explains why the weather is such a favoured topic of conversation in England.

The average high temperature peaks in summer – July and August - are a favourable 22°C. Some days can see temperatures rise up to and above 30°C during a fine spell of weather. Similarly a July day in the mid-teens is not unheard of. The average low temperature in peak summer is 13°C. Summer 2007 was a particularly bad summer with lots of rain and grey skies. 2003, on the other hand, was one of the hottest summers in recent memory with a record temperature of 38°C. 2009 is set to see yet another heat wave with record highs.

Rainfall in summer is around 50 to 60mm per month, making it very marginally the driest time of year. Expect some rain if you’re in town, though you may escape. Late summer can see evening thunderstorms and short heavy downpours – at least this gets the rain out of the way quickly rather than with the endless drizzle that can occur at other times.

Autumn Weather: Mid September - November

Early autumn, from late September, can see good weather and pleasant temperatures though by October things are start to cool and rainfall increases slightly. The wintry weather begins to appear and November sees the first frosts of winter.

September enjoys average daily highs of 19°C and can still get sunny days in the 20s. Mid to high teens can be possible in October, but by November the temperature will not get far into double figures at its peak.

Autumn is definitely a season of change as the long warm sunny days give way to cooler temperature. The days begin to shorten noticeably.

Late autumn is statistically the wettest time of year in London, though in reality you’re just as likely to get rain at any time of year.

Winter weather: December - February

Winters in London are cold, without being very cold. Generally, the last few winters have been milder than average and as climate change progresses some bizarre weather is being thrown into the mix. In January (2009) London was as stricken as the rest of the country by heavy snowfall, which is rare across the country.

Frosts and snow are rarer in the city than elsewhere due to the ‘urban heat island’ phenomenon. The warmer temperatures mean that if it does fall it less likely for snow to settle than in other parts of the country. The average temperature in the winter is 5°C, with highs averaging 7°C and lows 2°C. It can often drop to 0°C, but temperatures far below are not common, especially in the more built up areas of the city.

A crisp, sunny winter’s day is very beautiful, especially if you find a leafy area. But unfortunately there are a lot of damp, grey days during an English winter. Sunshine levels drop to one hour per day in December and only increase slightly thereafter.

Rainfall is at its highest in late autumn and winter, at between 70 to 80mm per month. This tends to fall as an irritating drizzle so there are a lot of rainy days. Coupled with the short hours of daylight, this can make winter a bit of a grim time – when you’re out in town you may be tempted to duck into the nearest pub and sip ale by the fireplace.

Spring Weather: March - May

Spring, again, is a time of unpredictable weather. Sometimes it can be sunny and a pleasant 20°C while all around is blooming, the birds are chirping and the days getting longer. Other times it can be chilly, grey and damp.

Early spring stills sees a few frosts (though less so in the city), while by late spring you can really start to feel the arrival of summer weather.

March has average highs of just 10°C, while this rises to 17°C by May.

Rainfall is around 50 to 60mm per month in spring. This time is known for its frequent but brief showers – coined the ‘April showers’.

Sunshine levels increase as the season progresses.

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