UK average rainfall by month

Of our 19 places, Glasgow is the wettest with about 1164 mm a year (wettest in January), and London the driest with about 648 mm. West is wetter than east everywhere in the UK, because the hills catch Atlantic rain first.

Average rainfall, mm a month

Average rainfall by month
Place	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Edinburgh	74	62	60	54	57	68	73	77	61	81	73	77
Glasgow	117	98	88	75	80	86	94	105	86	113	107	115
Newcastle	54	47	45	51	48	64	64	69	55	60	63	60
Belfast	78	64	64	65	71	77	84	82	71	88	88	82
Leeds	61	56	54	59	56	72	68	73	62	66	66	68
Manchester	89	78	75	67	70	86	86	91	78	92	90	100
Liverpool	89	75	73	67	69	83	87	95	91	114	111	119
Birmingham	55	47	50	56	63	69	66	64	57	67	65	63
London	55	47	43	49	52	56	55	61	48	60	64	58
Cardiff	96	78	70	71	74	71	75	89	77	108	105	110
Bristol	68	56	56	62	68	64	63	70	58	76	75	75

Wet days a month

Days with 1 mm of rain or more.

Wet days by month
Place	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Edinburgh	14	12	13	12	13	14	14	13	11	13	14	14
Glasgow	17	15	15	14	14	14	16	16	14	16	16	16
Newcastle	12	11	11	11	11	12	12	13	10	12	13	13
Belfast	14	13	14	13	14	13	15	14	13	14	14	13
Leeds	13	12	11	12	12	13	13	12	10	12	13	13
Manchester	15	14	14	13	13	14	16	15	13	15	16	15
Liverpool	16	14	14	13	13	14	16	16	14	16	18	17
Birmingham	12	10	11	12	12	12	12	11	10	11	12	12
London	11	10	10	11	10	11	11	10	9	11	11	11
Cardiff	15	12	12	12	12	11	12	13	11	14	15	14
Bristol	13	11	11	12	12	11	11	11	10	12	13	12

Hours of sunshine a month

Sunshine hours by month
Place	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Edinburgh	109	151	210	271	330	305	311	283	227	172	124	92
Glasgow	99	137	193	255	319	290	291	272	213	165	115	87
Newcastle	120	162	232	289	349	328	352	314	246	191	132	104
Belfast	117	150	215	276	334	319	304	282	230	181	129	108
Leeds	116	155	225	277	326	307	337	300	234	182	125	107
Manchester	106	143	212	268	319	303	317	284	225	171	117	99
Liverpool	122	159	239	294	351	347	354	320	255	195	132	112
Birmingham	115	147	215	270	317	316	330	300	230	178	126	112
London	120	147	217	283	320	325	343	305	242	187	131	116
Cardiff	126	157	222	288	334	340	344	312	250	192	138	122
Bristol	120	150	212	278	320	325	336	300	239	185	134	119

Source: Copernicus ERA5 and Open-Meteo. ERA5 reanalysis grid values, 1991 to 2020; not Met Office station averages

Rainfall: questions

What is the wettest month in the UK?

For most of the west and north it is between October and January, when Atlantic storms are most frequent. In the drier east and south-east, rain is spread more evenly through the year, and summer thunderstorms can make a summer month the wettest.

What is the driest month?

Usually April, May or June across much of the UK, when high pressure is more common and Atlantic systems are weaker.

What counts as a wet day?

Here, a day with at least 1 mm of rain. Days with only a trace of drizzle are not counted.