Climate - Isle Of Man (United Kingdom)

The climate of the Isle of Man is oceanic, cool and humid throughout the year.
The island, a British Crown dependency, is located between Northern Ireland and north-western England.
The average temperature ranges from 5,5 °C (42 °F) in February to 15.5 °C (59.5 °F) in August.
Here are the average temperatures in Ronaldsway Airport.

Precipitation amounts to 865 millimeters (34 inches) per year. It is well distributed over the seasons, and is frequent also in summer. However, the wettest period is from October to January.
On the hills that lie in the interior of the island, precipitation is more abundant, so that at the top of Snaefell, at 621 meters (2,037 feet) above sea level, 1,900 mm (75 in) of rain fall per year (and winter snowfalls are also more frequent).
Here is the average precipitation at the airport.

Winter, from December to February, is quite cold: temperatures are not so low, but wind and humidity can increase the sensation of cold. The sky is often cloudy, and rainfall is frequent. Sometimes, intense Atlantic depressions can cause wind storms.
Snowfalls are relatively rare and not abundant (at least at sea level).
Usually, cold spells are not intense and do not last long. On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature generally drops to -2/-3 °C (27/28 °F), and more rarely to lower values. The temperature dropped to -7 °C (19.5 °F) in January 1979 and in December 1981, to -7.5 °C (18.5 °F) in January 1982, to -5 °C (23 °F) in December 1985, to -6 °C (21 °F) in February 1986, to -6.5 °C (20.5 °F) in December 1985, and to -6 °C (21 °F) in December 2010.

In spring, from March to May, the temperature slowly rises, and Atlantic fronts continue to affect this area more or less as in the rest of the year, although they are a bit less intense than in winter. In May, it is often still quite cold, especially in the first half of the month.

Summer, from June to August, is cool, wet and cloudy, with quite frequent rains. Sunny days, or at least those in which the sky is completely clear from dawn to dusk, are quite rare.
Hot days are rare: the temperature may not reach 25 °C (77 °F) for an entire summer. The temperature reached 27 °C (80.5 °F) in June 1976, 29 °C (84 °F) in July 1983 (record), 28 °C (82.5 °F) in August 1995, and 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) in July 2003 and in July 2006.

Autumn, from September to November, is gray, cloudy and rainy as in the rest of the year, and with each passing week, it gets progressively colder. In November, the wind is often moderate or strong.



The amount of sunshine in the Isle of Man is not good. However, the (relatively) sunniest season is spring, when the sun also shines a little more often than in Ireland or in northern England. Entire days with totally clear skies are rare: it's more likely for the sky to be partly cloudy. On average, there are 1,585 hours of sunshine per year. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The Irish Sea is cold all year round, in fact, it reaches at most 15 °C (59 °F) in August. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit the Isle of Man runs from mid-May to mid-September; May and June are cooler months, but they are relatively sunnier. July and August are the warmest months, or the least cool, however, it's better to bring a jacket, a sweatshirt and a sweater also in midsummer.