Coventry has a mild temperate climate with all four seasons and no extremes of temperature. Rainfall is on the high side of moderate and fairly consistent throughout the year. There is nothing to set Coventryâs weather apart from that experienced all over the UK. Unpredictability is a prominent feature of the cityâs weather, as it is of the whole British Isles. Coventry sits in the West Midlands, near to Birmingham.
Summer, from mid June till mid September, is unquestionably the most pleasant time of year in Coventry. The average high temperature gets to 17°C in June and September, peaking in July and August at 21°C. Night time temperatures remain cool, sitting at 9°C in June and September and 12°C in the peak months. This sounds quite shameful but many summers are blessed with long days of sunshine that see the temperature rising into the mid 20s. On average June and July see six hours of sunshine per day, August sees five and September only four. But these statistics must be put into perspective; these few hours per day are actually shared out between periods of clear skies that can last for days and periods of grey and rain. Rainfall does not alter much all year but in the summer rainfall tends to be slightly heavier, falling on slightly fewer days; thunderstorms sometimes occur in late summer.
Autumn, from mid October till mid November, is cool and changeable. The average high temperature drops to 13°C in October and 9°C in November. The average low temperature drops to 7°C and 3°C respectively and it can fall below freezing quite early in November. Rain falls in a persistent drizzle on around half of the days in each month and sunshine levels get down to three hours per day in October and two in November. The upside of these gloomy conditions is the turning of the leaves which paint the green parts of Coventry in fiery reds and yellows.
Winter, from mid November till early March, is a bit dismal. The average high temperature drops to 6°C and December and January, creeps to 7°C in February and 9°C in March. The average low temperature gets down to 1°C from December till February and rises to 3°C in March. This is nowhere near as cold as the winters seen at similar latitudes elsewhere, for instance in New England. However, cold wind, constant rain and the truant sunshine make this a small mercy. It regularly falls below freezing on winter nights causing extensive frosts but snow only falls on a few days each winter, rarely settling for long. The weather is very changeable and the seemingly endless grey can suddenly clear and produce a few days of crisp air, clear skies and brilliant sunshine.
Spring, from mid March till mid June, is mild and unpredictable. The average high temperature rises from 9°C in March to 12°C in April and 15°C in May. Night time temperatures remain very cool till the end of May. These averages are not to be taken too seriously as the actual temperature on any given day relies so heavily on sunshine. Sunshine levels increase to three hours per day in March, four in April and six in May. If the sun comes out for long enough then temperatures can push into the high teens as early as April. However, a week of summerlike weather in April is often followed by bitterly cold winds, irritating drizzle and low, grey clouds.
Coventry benefits from being in Britain which sits in the Gulf Stream, a current of the Atlantic Ocean which brings to many areas cooler summers and milder winters than expected at their latitudes.