Climate - Leeds (England)

The climate of Leeds is oceanic, with quite cold, rainy winters and mild, relatively rainy summers.
The city is located in the center-north of England, in West Yorkshire.
Winter is not very cold, but the sky is often cloudy, the humidity is high and there are periods when the wind blows moderate or strong. The rains are frequent.
On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature generally drops to around -5 °C (23 °F), but can sometimes drop to lower values. At Leeds Bradford Airport, located outside the city and 200 meters (650 ft) above sea level, the temperature reached -9 °C (16 °F) in December 1981, -8 °C (17.5 °F) in January 1982 and in January 1985, -11 °C (12 °F) in January 1987, -8 °C (17.5 °F) in February 1991, -10 °C (14 °F) in December 2010, and -7.5 °C (18.5 °F) in February 2018.
In summer, temperatures are generally mild or cool. It can also rain, albeit a little less often than in winter.
However, hot periods cannot be ruled out, usually of short duration. The temperature reached 32 °C (89.5 °F) in August 1990 and in July 2019, and 31 °C (88 °F) in July 2020.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 4 °C (39 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 16.5 °C (62 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 605 millimeters (23.8 inches) per year: it is lower than in other parts of England because the Pennines to the west (the low mountains that run through England from north to south like a backbone) partially block the wet currents from the Irish Sea. It ranges from 35 mm (1.4 in) in the driest month (February) to 60 mm (2.4 in) in the wettest (August). Here is the average precipitation.

On average, there are around 1,575 sunshine hours per year. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Best Time

The best time to visit Leeds is the summer, or more generally from mid-May to mid-September: temperatures are generally good for outdoors activities, although it's better to bring an umbrella, and a sweatshirt or sweater for the evening or for cool days.