Plymouth climate

Name: Plymouth
Address: GB

Plymouth is warmest in July, with average highs of 19 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 4.4 °C. December is the wettest month (100 mm) and September the driest (66 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Plymouth averages 968 mm of rain, 1 days above 25 °C and 8 days below freezing.

United Kingdom · population 260,203 · 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 19 °C
Coldest month February 4.4 °C
Driest month September 66 mm
Wettest month December 100 mm
Least cloud April 66 % cloud
Hottest on record June 27 °C
Coldest on record December -7.7 °C
Warmest sea August 17 °C

What to expectPlymouth through the year

Plymouth has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 8.7 °C in February to 19 °C in July, a swing of 10 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 1 days a year reach 25 °C, 8 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 27 °C, in June.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 66 mm in September to 100 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Plymouth is warmest in August at 17 °C and coldest in March at 9.3 °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	8.8 °C	88 mm	75 %
February	8.7 °C	76 mm	73 %
March	10.2 °C	68 mm	71 %
April	12.4 °C	73 mm	66 %
May	15.0 °C	76 mm	68 %
June	17.6 °C	74 mm	69 %
July	19.4 °C	73 mm	69 %
August	19.3 °C	80 mm	70 %
September	17.4 °C	66 mm	69 %
October	14.5 °C	97 mm	72 %
November	11.4 °C	97 mm	74 %
December	9.3 °C	100 mm	75 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	8.8 °C	4.8 °C	6.9 °C	14.1 °C	-3.9 °C	0	2
February	8.7 °C	4.4 °C	6.6 °C	14.4 °C	-6.3 °C	0	2
March	10.2 °C	5.2 °C	7.7 °C	18.0 °C	-4.6 °C	0	1
April	12.4 °C	6.5 °C	9.4 °C	21.6 °C	-1.0 °C	0	0
May	15.0 °C	9.1 °C	12.2 °C	23.0 °C	1.6 °C	0	0
June	17.6 °C	11.9 °C	14.8 °C	27.4 °C	6.1 °C	0	0
July	19.4 °C	13.9 °C	16.6 °C	26.8 °C	8.4 °C	1	0
August	19.3 °C	14.0 °C	16.6 °C	26.8 °C	7.9 °C	1	0
September	17.4 °C	12.5 °C	14.9 °C	23.9 °C	6.6 °C	0	0
October	14.5 °C	10.3 °C	12.4 °C	21.4 °C	0.7 °C	0	0
November	11.4 °C	7.5 °C	9.5 °C	16.4 °C	-1.4 °C	0	0
December	9.3 °C	5.6 °C	7.5 °C	14.7 °C	-7.7 °C	0	2

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	88 mm	14	8.5 h/day	75 %	85 %	26 km/h	10.2 °C
February	76 mm	12	10 h/day	73 %	83 %	25 km/h	9.5 °C
March	68 mm	12	12 h/day	71 %	82 %	24 km/h	9.3 °C
April	73 mm	12	14 h/day	66 %	80 %	22 km/h	10.2 °C
May	76 mm	12	15 h/day	68 %	80 %	21 km/h	11.9 °C
June	74 mm	13	16 h/day	69 %	80 %	20 km/h	14.3 °C
July	73 mm	12	16 h/day	69 %	81 %	20 km/h	16.1 °C
August	80 mm	13	15 h/day	70 %	82 %	20 km/h	16.8 °C
September	66 mm	11	13 h/day	69 %	83 %	21 km/h	16.0 °C
October	97 mm	14	11 h/day	72 %	84 %	24 km/h	14.9 °C
November	97 mm	14	9.0 h/day	74 %	85 %	25 km/h	13.2 °C
December	100 mm	14	8.1 h/day	75 %	85 %	26 km/h	11.5 °C

How Plymouth 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
Plymouth	19 °C	4.4 °C	968 mm	1
Swansea · United Kingdom	19 °C	3.6 °C	1,232 mm	2
Cardiff · United Kingdom	19 °C	2.9 °C	1,025 mm	4
Saint Peter Port · Guernsey	17 °C	7.1 °C	876 mm	0
Newport · United Kingdom	20 °C	2.5 °C	872 mm	6
Bristol · United Kingdom	20 °C	2.4 °C	790 mm	6
Bournemouth · United Kingdom	20 °C	4.0 °C	749 mm	4

Where Plymouth ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Europe in July	29thof 50	19 °C
The coolest places in Europe in June	38thof 50	18 °C
The coolest places in Europe in August	45thof 50	19 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in February	49thof 50	9.5 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in March	49thof 50	9.3 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in January	50thof 50	10 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Plymouth’s climate

When is the best time to visit Plymouth?

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

How hot does Plymouth get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 19 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 27 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 4.4 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 8 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Plymouth?

December, averaging 100 mm over 14 days with rain. The driest month is September with 66 mm. The year as a whole averages 968 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 Plymouth 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
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.