Best Time To Travel To: England

The climate of England is mainly determined by the northern longitude as well as the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the influences of the Gulf Stream. This multitude of different influences affects the weather. Typically, the weather in England can change from now to later. However, the temperature fluctuations remain within limits, large temperature jumps are actually not common. The Atlantic Ocean is one of the biggest influences on the climate in Great Britain. Warm water flows in from the Gulf of Mexico. This warms up the coastal areas along the Atlantic in particular and causes a mild climate there. This also makes it possible to grow grapes at latitudes that are actually more known for cold. Likewise, the warm currents make it possible that there are even palm trees in some Atlantic regions of England.

The regional climates are mainly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. The mildest parts are those that are close to the Atlantic Ocean. These are Northern Ireland, Wales and the western parts of England and Scotland. They are the mildest regions, but also the rainiest and windiest regions in the UK. On the other hand, there are hardly any temperature extremes.

The eastern regions are generally drier, cooler and not quite as windy. Here you will also find the greatest temperature differences over the year. The northern areas are basically somewhat cooler and wetter, and with smaller temperature differences than, say, the southern areas.

The south and southeast of England are more influenced by the continental tropical air flow. This brings more warm and dry air. The southwest, on the other hand, gets more of the tropical sea air, which in turn is warm but more humid.

Basically, England is sunnier and warmer than any other part of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), and overall it rains on fewer days. However, there are seasonally warmer areas. For example, the climate is milder in Wales from November to February. In Northern Ireland, for example, it is milder from December to February.

Winter is from December to February. Then it is usually cool, wet and also windy everywhere. At night, temperatures rarely go below 10 degrees below zero. During the day, it is hard to get above 15 degrees Celsius. Precipitation is quite high in winter, but snow is not the rule due to England's location (except on the higher mountains and the North). Nevertheless, the winter 2008/2009 was remarkable, which brought some snow also in England. Towards the end of winter, precipitation and windy weather decrease significantly. At the beginning of winter, however, there is often the highest precipitation of the year. The coldest corners are in northern England. The mildest areas are then the coastal areas, especially those in the south and west.

Spring is from about March to May. It is then mostly cool but dry. The coolness comes from the fact that the Atlantic Ocean has lost much of its warmth over autumn and winter. Nevertheless, on sunny days the thermometer can rise to pleasant temperatures in spring. However, heavy storms and abundant rainfall can also occur from time to time. In England, too, one must now reckon with snowfalls in spring. Often there is even more snow than in winter. In spring, the north of England is the coolest, and the south of England is the warmest.

Summer is from June to August. It can be very dry, but rainfall is always possible in England. In some places there are even violent storms in summer. They mainly affect the south, the east and the center of England. They occur less frequently in the north and west. In summer, the high pressure systems of the Azores often have an effect in England. It is coolest in the north of England. It is usually quite warm in the southwest of England. By the way, August 2008 was the rainiest August since 1921, so you always have to expect rain.

Autumn is from September to November. The season is considered very changeable, because cool air masses here repeatedly meet warm air masses over Great Britain. Rainfall can be a problem. This is favored, for example, by the fact that the temperatures on land are colder than the water temperatures. This causes condensation with clouds, which bring rain to the land relatively quickly. In the fall, strong storms also occur again and again, sometimes with the force of hurricanes and speeds of up to 119 kilometers per hour. This is felt especially by the Atlantic regions in the west - more than those in the south. Autumn can have a completely different quality, however, when the so-called Indian summer prevails. This late summer is comparable to ours and can be extremely pleasant. Since 2000, we have basically had milder autumns than in the past. However, there are more and more weather extremes - sometimes the autumns are extremely dry, sometimes extremely wet. It gets warmest in autumn in the south of England. It is coolest in the north of England.

The average number of hours of sunshine per year in Great Britain is approximately 1,340 hours. This means that the UK is just under 30 percent below the highest known value. The south coast is the sunniest, the sky is often clear and cloudless. The counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex and Kent have around 1,750 hours of sunshine per year. On the other hand, the values in the west, north and mountainous regions are on average less than 1,000 hours.

Valley cuts are often in the shade, and the sun rarely comes through here, especially in winter. The mountainous areas in Wales are often shrouded in fog and mist. It is similar with mountains in northern England and Scotland. In the coastal areas, especially in spring and early summer, fog from the sea can come in. In winter even the interior of England can be shrouded in fog for a long time.

The amount of rainfall in the UK varies widely. Basically one can say: the more westerly and the higher, the higher the precipitation. The wettest parts of the mountains are in Wales, Scotland, the Pennines and the moors in south-west England. Some areas are among the wettest in Europe. Other parts, however, are relatively dry. London comes e.g. only about 650mm of precipitation per year. That's less than Rome or Sydney. Essex and Cambridgeshire counties are among the driest in Great Britain. The average annual drop here is around 600mm, in Essex it is sometimes only 450mm. That is less than Jerusalem or Beirut.

In general, the UK has mild to cool winters and warm summers. There are no large temperature jumps over the year. The average annual temperature varies from around 8.5 degrees in the north to around 11 degrees in the south. It can of course be cooler at higher altitudes. The effects of the Atlantic are likely to be a major factor in the low temperature fluctuations. The warmest month is usually July. It is usually the warmest in the south, east and middle of England. However, the UK can also come under the influence of polar air and it can lead to colder temperatures. Here it can easily go over 30 degrees in summer. The previous peak temperature was reported from Kent in the summer of 2003. At that time the temperature rose to 38.5 degrees.

When to go to England

In addition to the main travel season in summer, the optimal travel time is likely to be in the period from April to June and September to October.

Climatetable England, averages