by VK Freelance

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

The climate in Manchester, UK

I grew up in Manchester, as a child I was very aware of the fact that it rained - very often, even throughout summer, I'm not talking heavy, downpours, I'm talking that eerie, drizzly, misty rain that you don't notice until you are soaking wet!

However, I live now in Wales, UK, as I am writing this, there is torrential rain pouring down outside, there is thunder, lightening and it is sticky and warm. I have lived in many different places, and haven't noticed it raining more or less in Manchester than anywhere esle.

So does Manchester rain more than anywhere else? Let's look at some statistics; Manchester's average annual precipitation is 806.6 mm, compared to UK average of 1,125 mm! That means it rains less! But,as I said, Manchester rain is drizzly amd misty, so perhaps lets look at how many days it rains: it rains about 140 days a year yet the UK average is 154!

Manchester is not the rainy city?

So apparently Manchester is a actgually less rainy than other parts of the UK, yet it does always seem dreary in Manchester, and Temperature wise it doesn't usually get higher than 20C(68F) or lower than 1C (33F), so its usually mild, never warm, never really too cold.

So What is it?

What is it about Manchester that makes it appear constantly wet and grey all through the year? It's not the atmosphere, which is usually upbeat despite the weather, it's not the people, who I grant you care a bit 'Mancunian' at times, but grey and dull is not a word I would use. The only thing I think of, is the utter lack of sunshine, even on a warm day, and the relatively high humidity, which makes you feel wet even when perhaps it's not raining.

Lackluster weather

The weather has no extremes, its hardly ever REALLY cold, or REALLY rainy or REALLY windy, its just average. And lets be honest, average is just dull, it's just grey and misty, and yuck.

Mad dogs...

To be honest, despite our complaints, we love our weather, on the few hot days we get the entire population of Manchester appears as if from nowhere to bask in the glory of seeing the sun. On the days when once in a while it snows, the entire population is out again building snowmen in the grey cold. It's a novelty, and we like the title "the rainy city," otherwise it would just be "that place that's not London," or something equally dire.

But Manchester has a lot going for it regardless of its weather, it's a city of life, of colourful people (watch your wallet) of eclectic architecture, and fun places to shop. When it rains, we go into a caf and have a half-fat, double strength, vanilla syrup, soya latte, and maybe an Eccles Cake; it's as good an excuse as any.

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