Climate
Greater Manchester experiences a temperate maritime climate, like most of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The county's average annual rainfall is 806.6 millimetres (31.76 in) compared to the UK average of 1,125.0 millimetres (44.29 in), and its mean rain days are 140.4 per annum, compared to the UK average of 154.4. The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom; Greater Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing which took place around the county. Snowfall is not a common sight in the built up areas, due to the urban warming effect. However, the Pennine and Rossendale Forest hills around the eastern and northern edges of the county receive more snow, and roads leading out of the county can be closed due to heavy snowfall, notably the A62 road via Standedge, the A57 (Snake Pass) towards Sheffield, and the M62 over Saddleworth Moor.
| Climate data for Manchester (Ringway) 69m asl, 1981-2010, extremes 1960-2005 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) |
15.2 (59.4) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.2 (90.0) |
33.7 (92.7) |
28.4 (83.1) |
26.3 (79.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.1 (59.2) |
33.7 (92.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 7.3 (45.1) |
7.6 (45.7) |
10.0 (50.0) |
12.6 (54.7) |
16.1 (61.0) |
18.6 (65.5) |
20.6 (69.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
17.6 (63.7) |
13.9 (57.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
13.5 (56.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) |
1.6 (34.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.9 (40.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.2 (39.6) |
1.8 (35.2) |
6.6 (43.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12 (10.4) |
−13.1 (8.4) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
2.0 (35.6) |
6.0 (42.8) |
3.6 (38.5) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−3 (26.6) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 72.3 (2.846) |
51.4 (2.024) |
61.2 (2.409) |
54.0 (2.126) |
56.8 (2.236) |
66.1 (2.602) |
63.9 (2.516) |
77.0 (3.031) |
71.5 (2.815) |
92.5 (3.642) |
81.5 (3.209) |
80.7 (3.177) |
828.8 (32.63) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 13.1 | 9.7 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 10.9 | 12.0 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 13.5 | 142.9 |
| Avg. snowy days | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 30 |
| % humidity | 87 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 82 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 86.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 52.5 | 73.9 | 99.0 | 146.9 | 188.3 | 172.5 | 179.7 | 166.3 | 131.2 | 99.3 | 59.5 | 47.1 | 1,416.2 |
| Source #1: Met Office | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Greater Manchester
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Then climate is a great impediment to idle persons; we often resolve to give up the care of the weather, but still we regard the clouds and the rain.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)