Plymouth climate
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 above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.8 °C | 4.8 °C | 6.9 °C | 14.1 °C | -3.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| February | 8.7 °C | 4.4 °C | 6.6 °C | 14.4 °C | -6.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| March | 10.2 °C | 5.2 °C | 7.7 °C | 18.0 °C | -4.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| April | 12.4 °C | 6.5 °C | 9.4 °C | 21.6 °C | -1.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 15.0 °C | 9.1 °C | 12.2 °C | 23.0 °C | 1.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 17.6 °C | 11.9 °C | 14.8 °C | 27.4 °C | 6.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 19.4 °C | 13.9 °C | 16.6 °C | 26.8 °C | 8.4 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 19.3 °C | 14.0 °C | 16.6 °C | 26.8 °C | 7.9 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 17.4 °C | 12.5 °C | 14.9 °C | 23.9 °C | 6.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 14.5 °C | 10.3 °C | 12.4 °C | 21.4 °C | 0.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 11.4 °C | 7.5 °C | 9.5 °C | 16.4 °C | -1.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 9.3 °C | 5.6 °C | 7.5 °C | 14.7 °C | -7.7 °C | 0 | 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 | 29th of 50 | 19 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in June | 38th of 50 | 18 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in August | 45th of 50 | 19 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in February | 49th of 50 | 9.5 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in March | 49th of 50 | 9.3 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in January | 50th of 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
- Data point
- 50.372°, -4.143° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
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.