The wettest months in the United Kingdom tend to be at the start and end of the year. In the period of consideration, the greatest measurement of rainfall was nearly 217 millimeters, recorded in December 2015. The lowest level of rainfall was recorded in April 2021, at 20.6 millimeters. Rainy days The British Isles are known for their wet weather, and in 2024 there were approximately 164 rain days in the United Kingdom. A rainday is when more than one millimeter of rain falls within a day. Over the past 30 years, the greatest number of rain days was recorded in the year 2000. In that year, the average annual rainfall in the UK amounted to 1,242.1 millimeters. Climate change According to the Met Office, climate change in the United Kingdom has resulted in the weather getting warmer and wetter. In 2022, the annual average temperature in the country reached a new record high, surpassing 10 degrees Celsius for the first time. This represented an increase of nearly two degrees Celsius when compared to the annual average temperature recorded in 1910. In a recent survey conducted amongst UK residents, almost 80 percent of respondents had concerns about climate change.

Rainfall in England amounted to *** millimeters in February 2020. This was the most rainfall recorded in a single month during the period of consideration. Meanwhile, the driest month during this period was in May 2020, in which less than ** millimeters of rain fell. In April 2025, England's precipitation amounted to **** millimeters, a decrease of ** percent in comparison to the same month the previous year.

The UK daily rainfall data contain rainfall accumulation and precipitation amounts over a 24 hour period. The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: NCM, AWSDLY, DLY3208 and SSER. The data spans from 1853 to 2024. Over time a range of rain gauges have been used - see section 5.6 and the relevant message type information in the linked MIDAS User Guide for further details.

This version supersedes the previous version (202407) of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. These include the addition of data for calendar year 2024.

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. A large proportion of the UK raingauge observing network (associated with WAHRAIN, WADRAIN and WAMRAIN for hourly, daily and monthly rainfall measurements respectively) is operated by other agencies beyond the Met Office, and are consequently currently excluded from the Midas-open dataset. Currently this represents approximately 13% of available daily rainfall observations within the full MIDAS collection.

Monthly averages of precipitation (mm/day) for 2050-2079 from UKCP18 regional projections (12km grid), using the RCP8.5 pathway.This data contains a field for each month’s average over the period. They are named 'pr' (precipitation), the month, and 'upper' 'median' or 'lower' as per the description below. E.g. 'pr July Median'.UKCP: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/indexWhat is the data?The data is from the UKCP18 regional projections using the RCP8.5 scenario. RCP8.5 is the highest of the plausible future emissions scenarios used by the IPCC, sometimes referred to as 'business as usual'.What do the 'median', 'upper', and 'lower' values mean?This scenario is run as 12 separate ensemble members. To select which ensemble members to use, a single value for the mean UK precipitation for the period 2050-2079 was taken from each ensemble member. They were then ranked in order from lowest precipitation to highest. The 'lower' fields are this data is the second lowest ranked ensemble member. The 'higher' fields are the second highest ranked ensemble member. The 'median' fields are the central (7th) ranked ensemble member.This gives a median value, and a spread of the ensemble members indicating the level of uncertainty in the projections.Recommendations for use of this data:1. We don't recommend using this data at the resolution of a single cell.The higher resolution of this data improves representation of topography, coasts, etc. but at the same time increases some of the uncertainty for individual grid cells. And so it is recommended to work with multiple grid cells, or an average of grid cells around a point to improve certainty.2. Consider whether the lower, median, or upper projections, or a combination, are most suitable for your use case.As described above, the spread of the ensemble members shown by the lower, median, and upper values indicates the level of uncertainty in the projections.Data source:pr_rcp85_land-rcm_uk_12km_12_mon-30y_200912-207911.nc (median)pr_rcp85_land-rcm_uk_12km_05_mon-30y_200912-207911.nc (lower)pr_rcp85_land-rcm_uk_12km_04_mon-30y_200912-207911.nc (upper)UKCP18 v20190731 (downloaded 04/11/2021)This dataset forms part of the Met Office’s Climate Data Portal service. This service is currently in Beta. We would like your help to further develop our service, please send us feedback via the site - https://climate-themetoffice.hub.arcgis.com/

There were around 15 rainy days in the United Kingdom in July 2024. A rainday is when one millimeter or more of rain occurs in a day. The highest number of rain days was recorded in December 2015, at 22.2 The fourth quarter was the wettestThe wettest periods of the year tend to be the start and the end. In 2023, the fourth quarter was the wettest, with an average of 419 mm of rainfall. October and December of that year recorded the highest monthly rainfall levels at 177 and 189 mm, respectively. Regional weatherDue to the United Kingdom’s geographical location and landscape, weather conditions can vary greatly. Scotland is, on average, the wettest country. Most rainfall is concentrated in the Scottish Highlands, as precipitation often occurs in mountainous regions. As rainfall comes in from the Atlantic, the northern and western parts of the UK are most susceptible to precipitation. This explains why England is the driest of all the regions, as rain deposits reduce as they move east.

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Climate Reconstruction. The data include parameters of tree ring with a geographic _location of United Kingdom, British Isles. The time period coverage is from 1000 to -59 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study _location details. Please cite this study when using the data.

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN]. 1 km gridded estimates of daily and monthly rainfall for Great-Britain and Northern Ireland (together with approximately 3000 km2 of catchment in the Republic of Ireland) from 1890 to 2017. The rainfall estimates are derived from the Met Office national database of observed precipitation. To derive the estimates, monthly and daily (when complete month available) precipitation totals from the UK rain gauge network are used. The natural neighbour interpolation methodology, including a normalisation step based on average annual rainfall, was used to generate the daily and monthly estimates. The estimated rainfall on a given day refers to the rainfall amount precipitated in 24 hours between 9am on that day until 9am on the following day. The CEH-GEAR dataset has been developed according to the guidance provided in BS 7843-4:2012. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/ee9ab43d-a4fe-4e73-afd5-cd4fc4c82556

1 km gridded estimates of daily and monthly rainfall for Great-Britain and Northern Ireland (together with approximately 3000 km2 of catchment in the Republic of Ireland) from 1890 to 2015. The rainfall estimates are derived from the Met Office national database of observed precipitation. To derive the estimates, monthly and daily (when complete month available) precipitation totals from the UK rain gauge network are used. The natural neighbour interpolation methodology, including a normalisation step based on average annual rainfall, was used to generate the daily and monthly estimates. The estimated rainfall on a given day refers to the rainfall amount precipitated in 24 hours between 9am on that day until 9am on the following day. The CEH-GEAR dataset has been developed according to the guidance provided in BS 7843-4:2012.

With drought conditions officially declared across large parts of the United Kingdom in summer 2022, many regions saw significantly less summer rainfall when compared to the average in the previous three decades. For example, rainfall in south-east and central England in July 2022 amounted to just *** percent of the ********* July rainfall average.

The UK daily rainfall data contain rainfall accumulation and precipitation amounts over a 24 hour period. The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: NCM, AWSDLY, DLY3208 and SSER. The data spans from 1853 to 2020. Over time a range of rain gauges have been used - see section 5.6 and the relevant message type information in the linked MIDAS User Guide for further details. This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. A large proportion of the UK raingauge observing network (associated with WAHRAIN, WADRAIN and WAMRAIN for hourly, daily and monthly rainfall measurements respectively) is operated by other agencies beyond the Met Office, and are consequently currently excluded from the Midas-open dataset. Currently this represents approximately 13% of available daily rainfall observations within the full MIDAS collection.

The UK hourly rainfall data contain the rainfall amount (and duration from tilting syphon gauges) during the hour (or hours) ending at the specified time. The data also contains precipitation amounts, however precipitation measured over 24 hours are not stored. Over time a range of rain gauges have been used - see the linked MIDAS User Guide for further details.

This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data.

The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: NCM, AWSHRLY, DLY3208, SREW and SSER. The data spans from 1915 to 2024.

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by the Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. A large proportion of the UK raingauge observing network (associated with WAHRAIN, WADRAIN and WAMRAIN for hourly, daily and monthly rainfall measurements respectively) is operated by other agencies beyond the Met Office, and are consequently currently excluded from the Midas-open dataset.

What does the data show?

This data shows the monthly averages of rainfall amount (mm) for 1981-2010 from CRU TS (v. 4.06) dataset. It is provided on the WGS84 grid which measures approximately 60km x 60km (latitude x longitude) at the equator. This is the same as the 60km grid used by UKCP18 global datasets.

What are the naming conventions and how do I explore the data?

This data contains a field for each month’s average over the period. They are named 'pr' (precipitation) and the month. E.g. ‘pr March’ is the average of the monthly total rainfall in March throughout 1981-2010.

To understand how to explore the data, see this page: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/457e7a2bc73e40b089fac0e47c63a578

Please note, if viewing in ArcGIS Map Viewer, the map will default to ‘pr January’ values.

Data source

CRU TS v. 4.06 - (downloaded 12/07/22)

Useful links

Further information on CRU TS Further information on understanding climate data within the Met Office Climate Data Portal

This record is for Approval for Access product AfA501 for approximately 1000 automatic rainfall data from the Environment Agency rainfall API.

The data is available on an update cycle which varies across the country, typically updated daily but updated faster is rainfall is detected. This is update frequency is usually increased during times of flooding, etc.

Readings are transferred via telemetry to internal and external systems in or close to real-time.

Measurement of the rainfall is taken in millimetres (mm) accumulated over 15 minutes. Note that rainfall data is recorded in GMT, so during British Summer Time (BST) data may appear to be an hour old. Data comes from a network of over 1000 gauges across England. Data shown is raw data collected from the gauges and is subject to quality control procedures. As a result, values may change after publication on this website.

Continuous rainfall information is also stored on our hydrometric archive, Wiski, and can be provided in non real-time on request through our customer contact centre. This raw rainfall data is provided to the Met Office for quality control along with all the data from our registered daily storage gauges (c.1400). The quality controlled dataset is covered in AfA148 Quality Controlled Daily and Monthly Raingauge Data from Environment Agency Gauges.

Data from a small selection of Met Office raingauges are included in our open data feed. This data is also available from the Met Office as open data.

In March 2023, there were***** rain days in England. This was the greatest number of rain days recorded in a month during the period in consideration. For comparison, in March 2025, there were just *** rain days. February 2020 was also an especially wet month in the United Kingdom, with an average rainfall of ***** millimeters. The month with the fewest number of rain days during this period was May 2020, with just *** rain days.

Average temperature and total rainfall in England and Wales : 1845 to 2012. Annual and seasonal outflow and rainfall estimates for the United Kingdom and its component countries since 1961.

Rainfall figures are available from the National River Flow Archive - monthly hydrological updates.

The Environment Agency also publish monthly water situation reports for England.

Discontinued - superceded by http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/nrfa/ & https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/water-situation-reports-for-england

This dataset comprises of derived annual statistics for measures of rainfall, streamflow, temperature and stream acidity (pH) for a stream, draining a small, approximately 1.2 square kilometres, upland conifer catchment. The stream, Nant Trawsnant, drains into the Llyn Brianne reservoir, Powys, United Kingdom. The data are for a 31 year period covering 1st April 1982 to 1st April 2012. The streamflow and acidity data are derived from 15 minute resolution observations throughout the calendar year 2013 from associated stream gauging and water quality stations on the Nant Trawsnant. The monthly rainfall measures presented, were derived from local rain gauges. The monthly temperature measures presented were derived from observations at a weather station near Talgarth, Powys. Routines within the Lancaster University Computer-Aided Program for Time-series Analysis and Identification of Noisy Systems (CAPTAIN) Toolbox for Matlab were used to develop a dynamic model of these data. These models were then used to simulate the 31-year record for which monthly statistics were derived. The statistics were derived to develop greater understanding of the controls on the long-term dynamics of aquatic biodiversity observed by other researchers in this stream. The work was part of the Diversity in Upland River Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project, NERC grant NE/J014826/1. Members of staff from the Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University installed, maintained and downloaded the stream gauging and water quality stations and also carried out statistical analysis of the data.

Since 2015, the greatest monthly rainfall deviation in the United Kingdom occurred in February 2020. This month saw a considerable increase of 139 millimeters from the long-term mean. In comparison, the same month in 2023 saw a decrease of almost 40 millimeters compared to the mean from 2002 to 2021.

Between 2001 and 2024, the average rainfall in the United Kingdom varied greatly. In 2010, rainfall dropped to a low of 1,020 millimeters, which was a noticeable decrease when compared to the previous year. However, the following year, rainfall increased significantly to a peak of 1,889 millimeters. During the period in consideration, rainfall rarely rose above 1,500 millimeters. In 2024, the annual average rainfall in the UK surpassed 1,386 millimeters. Monthly rainfall On average, rainfall is most common at the start and end of the year. Between 2014 and 2024, monthly rainfall peaked in December 2015 at approximately 217 millimeters. This was the first of only two times during this period that the average monthly rainfall rose above 200 millimeters. This was a deviation from December’s long-term mean of some 134 millimeters. Rainfall highest in Scotland In the United Kingdom, rain is often concentrated around mountainous regions such as the Scottish Highlands, so it is no surprise to see that – on average – it is Scotland that receives the most rainfall annually. However, in 2024, Wales received the highest rainfall amounting to approximately 1,600 millimeters. Geographically, it is the north and west of the United Kingdom that receives the lion's share of rain, as it is more susceptible to rainfall coming in from the Atlantic.

What does the data show?

The data shows monthly averages of precipitation amount (mm) for 1991-2020 from HadUK gridded data. It is provided on a 12km British National Grid (BNG).

Limitations of the dataWe recommend the use of multiple grid cells or an average of grid cells around a point of interest to help users get a sense of the variability in the area. This will provide a more robust set of values for informing decisions based on the data.What are the naming conventions and how do I explore the data?

This data contains a field for each month’s average over the period. They are named 'pr' (precipitation) and the month. E.g. 'pr March' is the rainfall amount for March in the period 1991-2020.

To understand how to explore the data, see this page: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/457e7a2bc73e40b089fac0e47c63a578

Please note, if viewing in ArcGIS Map Viewer, the map will default to ‘pr January’ values.

Data source: 

·
Version: HadUK-Grid v1.1.0.0 (downloaded 26/08/2022)

·
Source: https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/652cea3b8b4446f7bff73be0ce99ba0f

·
Filename: rainfall_hadukgrid_uk_12km_mon-30y_199101-202012.nc

Useful links

·
Further information on HadUK-Grid

·
Further information on understanding climate data within the Met Office Climate Data Portal