Durham weather in February

In February, Durham sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 48 mm of precipitation across 11.1 wet days and about 9.3 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 24 min at the start of February to 10 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Durham's 5th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Durham's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
48 mm
11.1 wet days
Daylight
9 h 18 min
7:42 AM – 5:00 PM
Cloud cover
72%
5th clearest
Wind
19 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
1.31 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.9
out of 10

Durham is city and the county town of County Durham in North East England.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month.

A typical February day in Durham reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs on par with January and about 2°C cooler than March.

-5°10°15°151015202528
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
172
272
372
472
572
672
772
872
972
1072
1172
1272
1372
1473
1573
1673
1773
1873
1973
2073
2173
2273
2383
2483
2583
2683
2783
2883

How February really feels in Durham

Once humidity and wind are folded in, February averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 28 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
28
wind chill below the day's low

The story in February is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Durham weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 10th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5512.31.97.60.7
Feb / 4811.12.19.30.9
Mar / 4510.41.211.51.8
Apr12° / 53110.413.72.8
May14° / 4911.6015.84.0
Jun17° / 10°6311.4016.95.1
Jul19° / 12°6312.1016.55.7
Aug19° / 12°6812.4014.75.6
Sep17° / 10°559.5012.55.1
Oct13° / 5811.20.110.23.4
Nov / 6312.20.68.21.8
Dec / 6212.81.37.10.8

Cloud cover in February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23169
33169
43169
53169
63169
73268
83169
93070
103169
113169
123169
133268
143169
153169
163169
173169
183169
193169
203169
213169
223169
233169
243169
253169
263169
273169
283169

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitationSnow

Durham gets around 48 mm of rain and snow over 11.1 wet days in February. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 39% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202528
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1366
2366
3376
4377
5387
6387
7397
8397
9397
10397
11397
12407
13407
14407
15407
16407
17407
18407
19407
20407
21407
22407
23407
24407
25407
26407
27397
28397

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of February feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, February lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100

Wind in February

Winds average 19 km/h in February.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 19 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202528
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
119light breeze
219light breeze
319light breeze
419light breeze
519light breeze
619light breeze
719light breeze
819light breeze
919light breeze
1019light breeze
1119light breeze
1219light breeze
1319light breeze
1419light breeze
1519light breeze
1619light breeze
1719light breeze
1819light breeze
1919light breeze
2019light breeze
2119light breeze
2219light breeze
2319light breeze
2419light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2818light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 24 min at the start of February to 10 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 108 minutes over February. Sunrise moves from 8:08 AM to 7:12 AM, and sunset from 4:31 PM to 5:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202528
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:084:31
28.48:074:33
38.58:054:35
48.68:034:37
58.68:014:39
68.77:594:41
78.87:584:44
88.87:564:46
98.97:544:48
109.07:524:50
119.07:504:52
129.17:484:54
139.27:464:56
149.27:444:58
159.37:425:00
169.47:405:02
179.47:375:04
189.57:355:06
199.67:335:08
209.77:315:11
219.77:295:13
229.87:265:15
239.97:245:17
2410.07:225:19
2510.07:195:21
2610.17:175:23
2710.27:155:25
2810.27:125:27

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 1.31 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.46 kWh/m² to a high of 4.96 kWh/m² in May across the year — February's 1.31 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

00.511.522.5151015202528
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.9Dim
20.9Dim
31.0Dim
41.0Dim
51.0Dim
61.0Dim
71.1Dim
81.1Dim
91.1Dim
101.2Dim
111.2Dim
121.2Dim
131.3Dim
141.3Dim
151.3Dim
161.4Dim
171.4Dim
181.4Dim
191.5Dim
201.5Dim
211.5Dim
221.6Dim
231.6Dim
241.6Dim
251.7Dim
261.7Dim
271.8Dim
281.8Dim
Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Durham?

Our two travel scores rate February for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.9
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

February is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Durham.

What to pack for Durham in February

From February's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In February, Durham sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Durham in February

The nearest coast averages about 7°C in February — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 17 km away) is warmest in August at about 15°C and coldest in March near 6°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May9Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul14Bracing
Aug15Bracing
Sep13Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Durham in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Durham peaks around August 10 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 10UV 6Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Durham?

Durham sits at 54.8°N, 1.6°W, 52 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Spennymoor, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Durham

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Durham.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Durham has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 112 m around an average of 77 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 323 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 906 m.

The land around Durham is covered by trees (37%), grassland (25%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, grassland (39%), cropland (25%) and trees (23%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%) and water (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
112 m
16 km
323 m
80 km
906 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
February weather nearby: Spennymoor 9.0 km · Chester-le-Street 9.0 km · Houghton-Le-Spring 10 km · Stanley 13 km · Washington 14 km · Bishop Auckland 15 km · Peterlee 15 km · Seaham 16 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Durham (54.7768°, -1.5757°, elevation 52 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).