Sunderland climate

Name: Sunderland
Address: GB

Sunderland is warmest in July, with average highs of 19 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 2.2 °C. August is the wettest month (69 mm) and March the driest (44 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Sunderland averages 677 mm of rain, 2 days above 25 °C and 29 days below freezing.

United Kingdom · population 170,134 · 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 2.2 °C
Driest month March 44 mm
Wettest month August 69 mm
Least cloud May 67 % cloud
Hottest on record August 29 °C
Coldest on record March -10 °C
Warmest sea August 15 °C

What to expectSunderland through the year

Sunderland has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 7.2 °C in February to 19 °C in July, a swing of 11 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 2 days a year reach 25 °C, 29 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 29 °C, in August.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 44 mm in March to 69 mm in August. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Sunderland is warmest in August at 15 °C and coldest in March at 6.4 °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	6.5 °C	54 mm	70 %
February	7.2 °C	47 mm	70 %
March	9.0 °C	44 mm	70 %
April	11.1 °C	51 mm	69 %
May	13.8 °C	48 mm	67 %
June	16.6 °C	62 mm	71 %
July	19.0 °C	64 mm	69 %
August	18.8 °C	69 mm	69 %
September	16.4 °C	55 mm	70 %
October	12.9 °C	59 mm	70 %
November	9.2 °C	64 mm	70 %
December	6.7 °C	59 mm	70 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	6.5 °C	2.2 °C	4.4 °C	13.7 °C	-9.9 °C	0	7
February	7.2 °C	2.2 °C	4.6 °C	15.2 °C	-6.0 °C	0	7
March	9.0 °C	2.9 °C	5.9 °C	18.5 °C	-10.3 °C	0	5
April	11.1 °C	4.5 °C	7.8 °C	22.2 °C	-2.6 °C	0	1
May	13.8 °C	7.2 °C	10.6 °C	23.5 °C	-1.2 °C	0	0
June	16.6 °C	10.1 °C	13.5 °C	27.1 °C	2.6 °C	0	0
July	19.0 °C	12.2 °C	15.7 °C	27.5 °C	6.4 °C	1	0
August	18.8 °C	12.2 °C	15.5 °C	28.7 °C	5.6 °C	1	0
September	16.4 °C	10.2 °C	13.3 °C	25.0 °C	2.8 °C	0	0
October	12.9 °C	7.7 °C	10.3 °C	24.3 °C	-2.2 °C	0	0
November	9.2 °C	4.7 °C	7.0 °C	16.3 °C	-6.8 °C	0	2
December	6.7 °C	2.5 °C	4.7 °C	15.2 °C	-9.4 °C	0	7

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	54 mm	12	7.8 h/day	70 %	83 %	27 km/h	7.4 °C
February	47 mm	11	9.7 h/day	70 %	80 %	27 km/h	6.5 °C
March	44 mm	10	12 h/day	70 %	78 %	26 km/h	6.4 °C
April	51 mm	11	14 h/day	69 %	77 %	23 km/h	7.3 °C
May	48 mm	11	16 h/day	67 %	76 %	22 km/h	9.4 °C
June	62 mm	11	17 h/day	71 %	76 %	21 km/h	11.8 °C
July	64 mm	12	17 h/day	69 %	76 %	20 km/h	14.0 °C
August	69 mm	12	15 h/day	69 %	77 %	21 km/h	14.5 °C
September	55 mm	10	13 h/day	70 %	78 %	23 km/h	13.2 °C
October	59 mm	11	11 h/day	70 %	80 %	25 km/h	11.7 °C
November	64 mm	12	8.4 h/day	70 %	83 %	26 km/h	10.3 °C
December	59 mm	12	7.2 h/day	70 %	84 %	26 km/h	8.8 °C

How Sunderland 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
Sunderland	19 °C	2.2 °C	677 mm	2
Newcastle upon Tyne · United Kingdom	19 °C	2.0 °C	684 mm	1
Leeds · United Kingdom	20 °C	1.6 °C	761 mm	5
Bradford · United Kingdom	19 °C	1.3 °C	872 mm	3

Where Sunderland ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Europe in June	22ndof 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Europe in July	27thof 50	19 °C
The coolest places in Europe in May	31stof 50	14 °C
The coolest places in Europe in August	35thof 50	19 °C
The coolest places in the world in May	45thof 50	14 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Sunderland’s climate

When is the best time to visit Sunderland?

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 March the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Sunderland get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 19 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 29 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 2.2 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 29 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Sunderland?

August, averaging 69 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is March with 44 mm. The year as a whole averages 677 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 Sunderland 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.