Climate
Leeds has a climate that is oceanic, greatly influenced by the Atlantic and the Pennines. Summers are usually mild, with moderate rainfall, while winters are chilly, cloudy with occasional snow and frost. Spring and autumn are mild but snow and frost are not unheard of in either season
July is the warmest month, with a mean temperature of 16 °C (61 °F), while the coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 3 °C (37 °F). Temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) and below −10 °C (14 °F) are not very common but can happen occasionally. Temperatures at Leeds Bradford Airport fell to −12.6 °C (9.3 °F) in December 2010 and reached 31.8 °C (89 °F) at Leeds city centre in August 2003. The record temperature for Leeds is 34.4 °C (94 °F) during the early August 1990 heatwave.
As is typical for many sprawling cities in areas of varying topography, temperatures can change depending on location. Average July and August daytime highs exceed 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) (a value comparable to South East England) in a small area just to the south east of the city centre, where the elevation declines to under 20 metres. This is 2 degrees milder than the typical summer temperature at Leeds Bradford airport weather station (shown in the chart below), at an elevation of 208 metres.
Situated on the eastern side of the Pennines, Leeds is among the driest cities in the United Kingdom, with an annual rainfall of 660 mm (25.98 in).
Though extreme weather in Leeds is relatively rare, thunderstorms, blizzards, gale force winds and even tornadoes have struck the city. The last reported tornado occurred on 14 September 2006, causing trees to uproot and signal failures at Leeds City railway station.
| Climate data for Leeds Bradford | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) |
5.9 (42.6) |
8.7 (47.7) |
11.3 (52.3) |
15.0 (59) |
18.2 (64.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
17.3 (63.1) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
12.58 (54.63) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.2 (32.4) |
1.6 (34.9) |
3.1 (37.6) |
5.5 (41.9) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.4 (50.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
8.7 (47.7) |
6.3 (43.3) |
2.9 (37.2) |
1.2 (34.2) |
4.93 (40.88) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 61 (2.4) |
45 (1.77) |
52 (2.05) |
48 (1.89) |
54 (2.13) |
54 (2.13) |
51 (2.01) |
65 (2.56) |
57 (2.24) |
55 (2.17) |
57 (2.24) |
61 (2.4) |
660 (25.99) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 17.5 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 13.5 | 13.7 | 12.2 | 11.7 | 13.2 | 12.9 | 15.1 | 16.5 | 17.0 | 172.3 |
| Source: | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Church Fenton, North Yorkshire 1981–2010 (15 miles east of Leeds city centre) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
12.6 (54.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
18.8 (65.8) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
13.9 (57) |
9.9 (49.8) |
7.1 (44.8) |
13.58 (56.43) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
0.9 (33.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
3.8 (38.8) |
6.6 (43.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
1.1 (34) |
5.73 (42.31) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 50.3 (1.98) |
37.3 (1.469) |
45.5 (1.791) |
46.3 (1.823) |
42.6 (1.677) |
54.8 (2.157) |
50.2 (1.976) |
57.9 (2.28) |
51.2 (2.016) |
56.7 (2.232) |
53.9 (2.122) |
56.6 (2.228) |
603.3 (23.751) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 10.8 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 8.3 | 10.1 | 11.0 | 10.6 | 114 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 53.9 | 82.5 | 115.6 | 154.8 | 210.7 | 189.3 | 205.9 | 182.8 | 147.1 | 108.1 | 70.0 | 53.0 | 1,573.7 |
| Source: Met Office | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Higher Education In Leeds
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