London experiences a delightful mix of weather throughout the year. Summers are short, comfortable, and often graced with partly cloudy skies. In contrast, winters stretch out for a longer duration, bringing biting cold, strong winds, and predominantly cloudy days. The temperature swings across the year, usually ranging from a cozy 39°F to a comfortable 74°F. While extreme temperatures are rare, London rarely dips below 30°F or soars above 84°F.
If you’re seeking warm weather activities, the best time to visit London is from late June to early September. This period offers the most pleasant weather for exploring the city’s attractions. The peak of this warm season falls in the third week of July, making it an ideal time for outdoor adventures.
A Glimpse into London’s Daily Rhythms
Let’s dive into a visual representation of London’s hourly average temperatures throughout the year. Think of it as a colorful map that tells the story of London’s temperature fluctuations. The horizontal axis represents the days of the year, while the vertical axis shows the hours of the day. The color of each square represents the average temperature for that specific hour and day. This vibrant chart helps you visualize how temperatures change over the course of a day and throughout the year.
Did you know there’s a place halfway across the world with similar weather to London? That place is Picnic Point, Washington, in the United States, situated a whopping 4,774 miles away! If you’re curious about the comparison, you can easily find it with a quick search.
Unmasking the Sun’s Dance
Another fascinating aspect of London’s weather is the sun’s journey across the sky. The following visualization captures the sun’s elevation and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day throughout the year. The horizontal axis represents the days of the year, and the vertical axis shows the hours of the day. The background color of each square reflects the sun’s azimuth at that specific moment. The black lines, known as isolines, represent areas of constant solar elevation. This graphic provides a compelling visual of the sun’s position in the sky throughout the year.
Finding the Perfect Time to Visit London
To help you plan your trip, we’ve created two travel scores based on London’s weather. These scores take into account factors like temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation.
The first score is the Tourism Score. It favors clear, rainless days with temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. These conditions are ideal for enjoying the city’s attractions and outdoor activities. The highest Tourism Score falls between late June and early September, with a peak in the third week of July.
The second score is the Beach/Pool Score. This score prioritizes clear, rainless days with temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. These conditions are perfect for enjoying swimming, sunbathing, and other hot weather activities. The Beach/Pool Score peaks in the last week of July, making it the most ideal time for these activities.
These scores are calculated by considering hourly data for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation from 1980 to 2016. Each hour is assigned a score based on these factors, and these scores are combined into a single hourly composite score. The daily average of these composite scores, smoothed over the years, gives us our final travel scores.
Our cloud cover score ranges from 10 for fully clear skies to 1 for completely overcast skies, with a linear decrease in between. Similarly, our precipitation score, based on a three-hour window, ranges from 10 for no precipitation to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.
The tourism temperature score ranges from 0 for temperatures below 50°F to 10 for 75°F, with a linear increase and decrease in between. The beach/pool temperature score follows a similar pattern, ranging from 0 for temperatures below 65°F to 10 for 82°F.
By utilizing these scores, you can easily identify the best time to visit London based on your preferred activities. Whether you’re seeking comfortable temperatures for sightseeing or warm days for swimming and sunbathing, London offers something for everyone. Plan your trip today and experience the magic of London in the most enjoyable weather.
