To ask if the weather is really nicer down south?

[moutonfou]

Lifelong northern pennine dweller here. It rains here on an average of 150 days a year.

I know the south is at least a little bit nicer and drier, but how much so? Is there anyone who's lived in both places and can give me a comparison?

[BarbaraofSeville]

I live in Leeds but have spent a few months working in London and one thing I noticed was that it was generally warmer and drier. I'm sure there are statistics available to back this up.

The west of the country is wetter than the east so you may find that it rains more in Cornwall than Lincolnshire for example.

There can also be huge variations across the country and it does irk me a bit when people, generally those in the south, go on about 'all the lovely hot weather', when those of us in Scotland, Wales, Northern England and Ireland are looking out of the window at the windy cold rain.

You do also get the odd occasion where the Highlands and Islands of Scotland are glorious and most other places less so.

[PickAChew]

I think nicer is subjective. The heatwaves down there are my idea of hell. I wouldn't be able to function and the kids would be beside themselves.

Mid-high teens and overcast in the NE, today. I've just been for a lovely long walk after dropping ds2 off at school and I'm merely a bit sweaty.

[BangkokBlues]

Yes, on average the south of England gets more sunshine hours and warmer temps.

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[Mesmerised]

Yes - it's true. I've lived in the North West and London and I would say London gets about 10% of the rainfall they do up there. It's very noticeable actually when you have lived in both. Plus London is much less windy and generally significantly warmer in summer. You don't get the humidity up there though.
The south west is milder weather too, but wetter and more changeable weather.

[steppemum]

yes and no.

if you look at any gardening programme they will show you how spring comes later as you go further north and how some plants can be grown in SW and not in NE etc.
Regularly in the weather map Scotland get rain while everywhere else doesn't. I rarely see it the other way round.

But local geography can have a huge effect, so
living on the west or east of a set of hills/mountains can mean in the rain or in the rain shadow
big cities can have their own micro climate.

and the whole of the west of UK is much wetter than the east, quite noticeably so.

And the SW peninsula is definitely sunnier than most of the rest of UK.

[helpimitchy]

Yes, they have little lizards and wild parakeets down there.

[JigsawBat]

I've lived in both SW and NW.

SW weather was definitely much better - a lot more sunshine, or at least dry weather, and warmer. I miss that a lot.

But, interestingly, also better snow. Have lived in NW for a decade and very rarely have I seen a proper snow covering here - more slush and ice, and very thin sprinklings. In the SW, when it snowed, you usually got a decent amount of it for proper snow activities and it seemed less slushy and dangerous.

[AnnieOH1]

I grew up in Sheffield but have subsequently moved down into Derbyshire. The only thing that has struck me is that palm trees seem to be growing with great gusto all around here now, which just wasn't possible outside the English Riviera 30 or so years ago. Now maybe they're hardier varieties I don't know but it just always strikes me as a "thing" that the UK is getting warmer.

[Mesmerised]

Helpmitchy - We have bright green parrots in our garden (native to Richmond Park).

[GU24Mum]

I'm sure I read a statistic somewhere that Manchester has 47% more rain than London. Yes, it's partly a North-South thing and partly an East-West thing - my DD did UK climate in geography last year and very roughly, the north is colder and the west is wetter so the NW is colder and wetter on average than the SE. Whether you think one is nicer is of course completely different - depends what weather types you like!

[TheFaerieQueene]

My mother and father have had parakeets in their garden for many years. (Near Richmond too)

[ballroompink]

Yes - I live in East Anglia which is pretty warm and dry. As a student I lived in Sheffield; I also have a lot of family in the north east so have been on plenty of holidays there - and the difference is so noticeable. Definitely prefer it warm and dry!

[TheWitchAndTrevor]

Depends on where up North, if its the east side, east yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Then I dont think there is a huge difference.

Maybe a a degree or two in the hottest/coldest weather. Rain is pretty similar.

But slightly further north would be more noticeable.

The Pennines is definitely colder in winter and usual soaks up most of the major rain heading over from the west.

The West is supposed to be wetter.

The day light is weird as you may get more joules of light the further down south you go. But in summer, the days are longer the further north you go, so you get more hours of light a day. But also less hours of day light in winter.

I agree too, that local micro climates can make quite a difference too.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Depends on what you mean by 'nicer', doesn't it? And exactly where in 'the north' or 'the south' you mean.

The north is much nicer if you like hillwalking and have sufficient Goretex.

[MaddeningtheUnhelpful]

West Sussex dweller here, it's on the whole quite rain free, so much so the water companies have issued drought warnings already (in April/May) I'm near to sea though so don't often feel too hot with the lovely seabreeze. We havent had good snow for about 6 years either so on the whole we get sunny spring and summer, and very mild autumn and winters

[Sgtmajormummy]

The Dartmoor area (so SW but inland) can be soooo damp. Walls go green, fallen leaves stay mulchy into spring and kids need wellies to play out all year round because of the dew. It has one of the highest precipitation levels in the country.

Give me the coast any time .

[SaS2014]

I'm from central belt Scotland, now live SW England. There is no doubt about it the weather here IS better. We get more dry weather, get more actual seasons at the right times and it's warmer from earlier in year until later.

[SmilingButClueless]

Although on the whole I think it is drier and warmer here. I remember when I was at university in the NE it always felt at least 3 degrees cooler getting off the train. Wouldn't say that's necessarily better weather, I could have done without the last two days.

[FoonaBaboona]

I live on the south coast, we generally have nice summers although do get our fair share of rain.
If it's too hot, I can go to the beach to cool down.

I remember once we were having a heatwave and my scottish cousin visited and it was snowing where she lived.

[Montsti]

I lived in the NW for 4 years and 25 years in the SE...incomparable...SE has much drier, sunnier weather😊

[Spottyladybird]

I live in Suffolk. Warm and dry usually from April onwards. DH wears shorts April-October.
We can feel the difference in temperature when we travel north from about Cambridge upwards!!

[Groupie123]

It's true that it gets much hotter down south (including London). But it's not nice sunny heat. It gets really humid because of all the pollution.

[HundredMilesAnHour]

I grew up in the Pennines so for the first 18 years of my life the damp, cold climate was normal to me. And then I moved to the South East for uni. What a revelation! It's warmer, sunnier and drier. I live in central London now and when my Pennine-dwelling father comes to visit, he's always delighted by how much warmer it is (usually a 5-10 degree temp difference, sometimes more). He usually turns up with at least 3 coats, none of which are needed. By contrast, when I go back to the NW to visit, 9 out of 10 times I'm inappropriately dressed (like a soft Southerner) and swan around in my cashmere/wool coat with groovy shoes from Shoreditch while everyone else is in anoraks and boots. I stick out like a sore thumb. I've started keeping a waterproof jacket and wellies in the back of my car for occasions like this!

[HundredMilesAnHour]

To add to Spottyladybird's post, I drove up to Suffolk from central London yesterday and according to my car, London was a good 5 degrees warmer than Suffolk.

[LouHotel]

I live in devon but once a week travel Leeds ect for work.

Id get on the train at home and would have to add a couple of layers by the time i got to my northern destination. In regards to rain i live by the coast so probably see more.