Wigan sits in the northwest of England in Greater Manchester. The city receives all four seasons, moderate rainfall year round, and no extremes of temperature. Wigan is not known for its spectacular weather, but for its prowess in rugby and football. It is perhaps the Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic that keep Wiganersâ spirits up in the face of grey skies and constant drizzle. The UK has a temperate maritime climate largely controlled by the Antlantic Ocean and benefiting from its position in the path of the Gulf Stream, which makes winters much milder than might be expected. The northwest is generally slightly cooler than the south.
Summer, from June till September, is warm and comparitively dry, but highly susceptible to change. Early summer sees Wiganâs most pleasant weather. The average high temperature increases to 19°C in June, peaks at 20°C in June and July and gets down to 17°C in September. It can get into the mid 20s, but this is rare. Night times are usually pretty cool. Sunshine levels are best at the start of summer at an average of six hours per day in June. This decreases to an average of four hours per day by the end of the season. It is impossible to predict how this sunshine will be shared out over the days, either short periods of blazing sun surrounded by days of dense cloud, or an invariably cloud-littered sky with the sun peaking out and sliding back in over the whole summer. Rainfall levels are relatively low in the first half of summer, but showers can be expected on around half of the days in each month and these grow heavier as the season progresses.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Autumn, in October and November, starts off mild but quickly becomes cool and sees a further reduction in sunshine. The average high temperature drops to 14°C in October and 9°C in November. Night times are chilly from the start of the season, with average lows of 8°C and 4°C respectively. The sun becomes more and more reclusive and November sees an average of only two hours of sunshine per day. Showers fall more frequently, on an average of seventeen or eighteen days per month.
Winter, from December till February, is technically mild but more acurately dismal. The average high temperature drops to 7°C and the average low to 2°C for most of the season. Frosts are common from the start of the season and while temperatures rarely venture far below freezing the damp can make it feel pretty nasty. Day time temperatures hovering just above 0°C are not uncommon. Snow falls on a few days, usually in January, but as a rule winterâs precipitation falls as rain, frequently. Sunshine levels reach an upsetting low of one hour per day in December and January. As you may have suspected, Wigan is not a âwinter sunâ destination.
Spring, from March till May, is mild with chilly nights. The average high climbs to 9°C in March,12°C in April and 16°C in May, and the average low climbs to 3°C, 5°C and 8°C respectively. The sun comes out for longer and gets up to a respectable average of six hours per day in May, and rainfall levels reduce slightly. The weather is generally quite pleasant in late spring, with cool days interspersed with warm and sunny ones.