Lewes in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Lewes sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 276 mm of precipitation over about 41 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about 10°C in early December to 8°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Lewes's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Lewes's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
8°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
6°C
Precipitation
276 mm
41 wet days
Avg wind
30 km/h
Travel score
1.4
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Lewes in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 10°C in early December to 8°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Lewes reaches about 8°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

10°15°DecJanFeb

Lewes weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 9814.40.58.21.3
Feb / 6711.60.69.71.1
Mar / 5310.10.311.51.6
Apr10° / 489.2013.52.5
May13° / 10°478.5015.23.6
Jun15° / 13°488.7016.24.7
Jul17° / 15°508.6015.85.9
Aug18° / 16°639.1014.36.1
Sep17° / 15°6810.7012.45.4
Oct15° / 12°11414.3010.43.9
Nov12° / 12315.908.72.5
Dec / 11114.60.47.81.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Lewes gets around 276 mm of rain and snow over 41 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 30 km/h across winter.

0102030DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 hours in early December to 10 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.1 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Lewes

In seasonPeak

In winter, Lewes overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lewes's rainy season runs August–February, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Lewes?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

1.4
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Lewes.

What to pack for Lewes in Winter

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

In winter, Lewes sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 6°C. Pack a warm layer, rain gear and a windbreaker. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 41 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara windbreakera heavy coat

Sea temperature near Lewes in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 10°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 29 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in March near 8°C.

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

10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan10Bracing
Feb9Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun13Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct16Cool
Nov14Bracing
Dec12Bracing

UV index in Lewes in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lewes peaks around August 10 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (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 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lewes?

Lewes sits at 50.9°N, 0.0°E, 27 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Rottingdean, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Lewes

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lewes has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 161 m around an average of 38 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 247 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 302 m.

The land around Lewes is covered by grassland (51%), cropland (23%) and trees (20%) within 3 km, grassland (41%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and water (35%), grassland (23%) and trees (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
161 m
16 km
247 m
80 km
302 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Rottingdean 9.0 km · Peacehaven 9.0 km · Brighton 12 km · Uckfield 12 km · Seaford 13 km · Hove 13 km · Burgess Hill 14 km · Haywards Heath 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 Lewes (50.874°, 0.0088°, elevation 27 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.