Bristol climate

Name: Bristol
Address: GB

Bristol is warmest in July, with average highs of 20 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 2.4 °C. October is the wettest month (76 mm) and February the driest (56 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Bristol averages 790 mm of rain, 6 days above 25 °C and 31 days below freezing.

United Kingdom · population 479,024 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 20 °C
Coldest month February 2.4 °C
Driest month February 56 mm
Wettest month October 76 mm
Least cloud July 65 % cloud
Hottest on record July 32 °C
Coldest on record February -9.0 °C
Warmest sea August 18 °C

What to expectBristol through the year

Bristol has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 8.0 °C in February to 20 °C in July, a swing of 12 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 6 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C, 31 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 32 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 56 mm in February to 76 mm in October. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Bristol is warmest in August at 18 °C and coldest in February at 6.9 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	7.5 °C	68 mm	74 %
February	8.0 °C	56 mm	72 %
March	10.1 °C	56 mm	71 %
April	12.8 °C	62 mm	67 %
May	15.9 °C	68 mm	68 %
June	18.6 °C	64 mm	68 %
July	20.4 °C	63 mm	65 %
August	20.0 °C	70 mm	67 %
September	17.8 °C	58 mm	68 %
October	14.1 °C	76 mm	71 %
November	10.3 °C	75 mm	74 %
December	7.8 °C	75 mm	73 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	7.5 °C	2.7 °C	5.1 °C	14.0 °C	-7.9 °C	0	8
February	8.0 °C	2.4 °C	5.1 °C	16.1 °C	-9.0 °C	0	8
March	10.1 °C	3.4 °C	6.8 °C	18.7 °C	-5.9 °C	0	4
April	12.8 °C	5.1 °C	9.0 °C	23.7 °C	-3.1 °C	0	1
May	15.9 °C	8.2 °C	12.1 °C	24.5 °C	0.0 °C	0	0
June	18.6 °C	11.1 °C	15.0 °C	30.1 °C	2.8 °C	1	0
July	20.4 °C	13.0 °C	16.8 °C	32.0 °C	6.9 °C	3	0
August	20.0 °C	13.0 °C	16.6 °C	31.6 °C	6.9 °C	2	0
September	17.8 °C	10.9 °C	14.4 °C	26.6 °C	2.8 °C	0	0
October	14.1 °C	8.4 °C	11.2 °C	25.2 °C	-2.1 °C	0	0
November	10.3 °C	5.3 °C	7.8 °C	16.7 °C	-4.7 °C	0	2
December	7.8 °C	3.1 °C	5.5 °C	14.8 °C	-8.3 °C	0	7

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	68 mm	12	8.4 h/day	74 %	87 %	24 km/h	7.5 °C
February	56 mm	10	10.0 h/day	72 %	84 %	24 km/h	6.9 °C
March	56 mm	11	12 h/day	71 %	81 %	23 km/h	7.4 °C
April	62 mm	11	14 h/day	67 %	78 %	21 km/h	9.3 °C
May	68 mm	12	16 h/day	68 %	77 %	20 km/h	12.2 °C
June	64 mm	11	17 h/day	68 %	77 %	19 km/h	15.2 °C
July	63 mm	11	16 h/day	65 %	77 %	19 km/h	17.5 °C
August	70 mm	11	15 h/day	67 %	78 %	19 km/h	18.3 °C
September	58 mm	10	13 h/day	68 %	80 %	20 km/h	17.1 °C
October	76 mm	12	11 h/day	71 %	84 %	22 km/h	14.5 °C
November	75 mm	13	8.9 h/day	74 %	87 %	22 km/h	11.5 °C
December	75 mm	12	7.9 h/day	73 %	88 %	23 km/h	8.9 °C

How Bristol compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Bristol	20 °C	2.4 °C	790 mm	6
Newport · United Kingdom	20 °C	2.5 °C	872 mm	6
Cardiff · United Kingdom	19 °C	2.9 °C	1,025 mm	4
Swindon · United Kingdom	21 °C	1.7 °C	724 mm	7

Where Bristol ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Europe in July	45th of 50	20 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Bristol.

QuestionsCommon questions about Bristol’s climate

When is the best time to visit Bristol?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Bristol get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 20 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 32 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 2.4 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 31 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Bristol?

October, averaging 76 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is February with 56 mm. The year as a whole averages 790 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Bristol rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: 51.455°, -2.597° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.