Dudley receives all four seasons and no extremes of temperature. Rainfall is moderate but it does tend to feel rather relentless. It has a temperate maritime climate which is largely controlled by the influences of the Atlantic Ocean. Currents and winds moderate temperatures away from extremes year round, and cause day-to-day unpredictability. Winters especially are warmer than might be expected at this northerly latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Dudley sits just next to Birmingham in the West Midlands of England.
Summer, from June till September, is mild to warm and the sunniest time of year. The average high temperature sits in the high teens in June and September, peaking at 21°C in July with August being only slightly cooler. Night time temperatures hover around 10°C, which is quite cool but not cold. Sunshine levels are best at the start of summer with an average of six hours per day which drops to four hours per day by the end of the season. It would be possible to try to excuse these rather pitiful sunshine levels by saying that from June 21st days get shorter, but having just experienced perhaps the gloomiest British summer ever (2010), it would seem too kind. Clear, sunny days do occur, but they are often surrounded by days of blank, grey cloud. Rainfall levels are moderate and, to be fair to Dudleyâs summer, it does rain less than at any other time of year. July, the driest month, sees an average of only (only!) twelve days with wet weather.
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Autumn, in October and November, slowly cools down and sees an increase in rain. The average high temperature drops to 14°C in October and 9°C in November, while the average low gets down to 6°C and 3°C respectively. Some clear, mild days can be expected in October, but cool and grey weather becomes more and more the norm. Sunshine levels drop to three hours per day in October, and a rather disappointing two in November. Light showers can be expected quite frequently, with wet weather occurring, on average, on about half of the days in each month.
Winter, from December till February, is usually pretty dismal. While extreme cold is unheard of, it still feels pretty chilly and the cold and wet make matters rather worse. The average high temperature gets down to 6°C and the average low to 0°C. Frosts are common from the start of the season and snow sometimes falls on a few days, usually in January. Sometimes it even settles long enough to have a couple of days of fun, but of course this means the entire country grinds to a halt. Snow is much less likely than rain, which falls incessantly. The sunâs performance is truly embarrassing. It shows itself for an average of one hour per day in December, then snivels its way back up to two hours per day for the rest of the season. Though I suppose in the case of winter, it would be fair to point out that daylight only lasts for eight hours.
Spring, at last, from March till April, slowly warms up. The average high temperature reaches 9°C in March, 12°C in April and 15°C in May. Night time temperatures remain very low. Rainfall hardly alters but, thank heavens, the sun does come out for longer and longer, and is actually not too bad in May with an average of six hours of sunshine per day. Weather conditions, as always, are very changeable from moment to moment.