Manchester in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Manchester sees average daytime highs around 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 263 mm of precipitation over about 43 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Manchester's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Manchester's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 7°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 263 mm
- 43 wet days
- Avg wind
- 17 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.7
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Manchester in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C.
A typical winter day in Manchester reaches about 7°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Manchester
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Manchester 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6° / 2° | 88 | 15 | 1.8 | 7.8 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 7° / 2° | 77 | 13.3 | 2.1 | 9.4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 9° / 3° | 74 | 13.1 | 1.3 | 11.5 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 12° / 4° | 66 | 12.9 | 0.5 | 13.7 | 2.8 |
| May | 15° / 7° | 69 | 12.8 | 0 | 15.6 | 4.1 |
| Jun | 17° / 10° | 84 | 13.9 | 0 | 16.7 | 4.9 |
| Jul | 19° / 12° | 84 | 15.2 | 0 | 16.2 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 19° / 12° | 89 | 15.2 | 0 | 14.6 | 5.2 |
| Sep | 16° / 10° | 76 | 12.4 | 0 | 12.5 | 4.6 |
| Oct | 13° / 7° | 90 | 14.5 | 0 | 10.3 | 3.1 |
| Nov | 9° / 4° | 88 | 15.3 | 0.2 | 8.3 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 7° / 2° | 99 | 15 | 1.5 | 7.3 | 0.7 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Manchester gets around 263 mm of rain and snow over 43 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 17 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 7 h 36 min in early December to 10 h 18 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 0.8 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Manchester?
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.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Manchester.
What to pack for Manchester in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Manchester sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 43 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Manchester in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 7°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 60 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in February near 6°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Bracing |
| Feb | 6 | Bracing |
| Mar | 7 | Bracing |
| Apr | 9 | Bracing |
| May | 11 | Bracing |
| Jun | 14 | Bracing |
| Jul | 16 | Cool |
| Aug | 17 | Cool |
| Sep | 16 | Cool |
| Oct | 14 | Bracing |
| Nov | 11 | Bracing |
| Dec | 9 | Bracing |
UV index in Manchester in Winter
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 Manchester peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 5 | High |
| Jul | 5 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Low |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Air quality in Manchester in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Manchester is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (November, 9 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Manchester's WHO annual average of 11.5 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Level | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Good |
| Feb | 12 | Good |
| Mar | 15 | Moderate |
| Apr | 15 | Moderate |
| May | 13 | Moderate |
| Jun | 12 | Good |
| Jul | 11 | Good |
| Aug | 11 | Good |
| Sep | 11 | Good |
| Oct | 10 | Good |
| Nov | 9 | Good |
| Dec | 9 | Good |
Where is Manchester?
Manchester sits at 53.5°N, 2.2°W, 51 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Manchester City Centre, 1.0 km away.
Topography around Manchester
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Manchester.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Manchester has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 45 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 402 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 722 m.
The land around Manchester is covered by artificial surfaces (73%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (37%), trees (34%) and grassland (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (52%) within 80 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
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 Manchester (53.4809°, -2.2374°, elevation 51 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.