Manchester climate
Manchester (England, United Kingdom) has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The average temperature over the year is 10 °C49 °F, and about 1,002 mm39 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Manchester climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 643 | 236 | 439 | 893.5 | 9 |
| Feb | 744 | 235 | 439 | 752.9 | 10 |
| Mar | 948 | 236 | 642 | 672.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 1254 | 440 | 847 | 572.2 | 2 |
| May | 1560 | 745 | 1152 | 682.7 | 0 |
| Jun | 1865 | 1051 | 1458 | 853.3 | 0 |
| Jul | 2068 | 1254 | 1661 | 933.7 | 0 |
| Aug | 1967 | 1254 | 1660 | 963.8 | 0 |
| Sep | 1763 | 1050 | 1356 | 783.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 1356 | 745 | 1051 | 983.8 | 0 |
| Nov | 949 | 540 | 745 | 973.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 744 | 337 | 541 | 993.9 | 8 |
| Year | 2068 | 235 | 1049 | 1,00239 | 40 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 95% | 82% | 0.6 | 8:00 |
| Feb | 93% | 79% | 1.3 | 9:43 |
| Mar | 89% | 76% | 2.5 | 11:41 |
| Apr | 85% | 73% | 3.9 | 13:55 |
| May | 83% | 72% | 4.9 | 15:52 |
| Jun | 83% | 75% | 5.0 | 16:00 |
| Jul | 84% | 75% | 4.8 | 16:32 |
| Aug | 85% | 77% | 4.0 | 14:47 |
| Sep | 87% | 75% | 2.9 | 12:35 |
| Oct | 91% | 78% | 1.6 | 10:26 |
| Nov | 94% | 81% | 0.8 | 8:30 |
| Dec | 95% | 82% | 0.5 | 7:30 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Manchester is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 20 °C68 °F and a low of 12 °C54 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 6 °C43 °F and lows 2 °C36 °F. There is a clear seasonal cycle, with 11.8 °C21.3 °F between the average temperature of the warmest and the coolest month.
It is wet, with about 1,002 mm39 in of precipitation per year. Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year. The wettest month is December (99 mm3.9 in), the driest is April (57 mm2.2 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 83% in May to 95% in December. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 72%) are typical of May. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 11 km/h (7 mph) in July to 15 km/h (9 mph) in January. Daylight lasts from about 7.5 hours in December to 17.0 hours in June.
Best time to visit Manchester
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are June–September: average highs of 17 °C63 °F to 20 °C68 °F with 78 mm3.1 in to 96 mm3.8 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of 6 °C43 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Manchester
- Winter (December–February) — highs 643 to 7 °C44 °F, lows 235 to 3 °C37 °F, about 88 mm3.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 948 to 15 °C60 °F, lows 236 to 7 °C45 °F, about 64 mm2.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 1865 to 20 °C68 °F, lows 1051 to 12 °C54 °F, about 91 mm3.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 949 to 17 °C63 °F, lows 540 to 10 °C50 °F, about 91 mm3.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
How Manchester compares
Compared with Birmingham, about 113 km to the south, Manchester is on average 0.4 °C0.6 °F warmer and receives 31% more precipitation (1,002 mm39 in vs 764 mm30 in). The difference is largest in December (0.9 °C1.5 °F warmer).
Of the 66 places in the United Kingdom covered by World Climates, Manchester is the 49th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 13th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the United Kingdom climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Limerick (Ireland, Cfb), Dublin (Ireland, Cfb) and Leeuwarden (The Netherlands, Cfb).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains St Helens (pop. 183,200), Wigan (pop. 175,405), Warrington (pop. 172,330), Bolton (pop. 141,331) and Salford (pop. 129,794). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Manchester, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Oldham 10 km · 9 °C47 °F · 960 mm38 in
- Huddersfield 35 km · 9 °C49 °F · 960 mm38 in
- Preston 44 km · 10 °C49 °F · 1,147 mm45 in
- Bradford 47 km · 9 °C48 °F · 1,008 mm40 in
- Liverpool 50 km · 10 °C50 °F · 980 mm39 in
- Sheffield 52 km · 9 °C49 °F · 739 mm29 in
- Birkenhead 52 km · 10 °C50 °F · 980 mm39 in
- Stoke-on-Trent 53 km · 9 °C49 °F · 853 mm34 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Manchester?
July is the warmest month in Manchester, with an average high of 20 °C (68 °F) and an average low of 12 °C (54 °F).
What is the coldest month in Manchester?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 6 °C (43 °F) and an average low of 2 °C (36 °F).
When does it rain the most in Manchester?
December is the wettest month with about 99 mm (3.9 in) of precipitation; April is the driest with about 57 mm (2.2 in).
What is the best time to visit Manchester?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are June–September.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 127 m, while Manchester lies at about 51 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +0.5 °C0.9 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.