End of August in London - pack our summer clothes?

I NEVER trust forecasts more than a few days out...but for what it's worth, here's the link to the Accuweather predictions for August for London. It doesn't look like a heat wave ... and yes, I've been in London in early September when it was very, very hot! BTW, the Met forecast for UK is probably more accurate but I don't know that website as well as the Accuweather website.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/london/ec4a-2/august-weather/328328?year=2023

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/forecast/uk

For myself, I don't tolerate heat any more so I'd be packing summer type clothes. It kind of depends on what is comfortable to you. I'd have a waterproof rain jacket with a hood and a long sleeve layer to wear over short sleeves. I wear capris when it is hot no matter how dorky they make me look. I'm not a sandal wearer so I'd be packing my usual athletic shoes.

I'd have a range of clothes and make a decision at the last minute on what makes the travel team, lol!!

What a fun time you will have!!

If you're coming for 4 weeks then the likelihood is that you will see a variety of weather, possibly in any conceivable order. It's not going to be very cold, but it could be cool, warm or hot. Right now after a very dry period in Spring we're going through a cool and wet period, stuck in a succession of low pressure systems coming along the Gulf Stream, in contrast to the very hot weather further south in Europe. We could still be in the low pressure pattern in another two weeks or it could have settled to a water and frier pattern. Nobody knows.
The answer is to pack layers.

With the internet, you can check the weather forecast for anywhere up until the minute you head for the airport, and adjust you clothes accordingly.

Stan - whilst that is decent advice it won't really work for someone coming to the UK for 4 weeks. Weather forecasts can only really be trusted for 48 to maybe 72 hours ahead here - it can change so much.

Summer stuff, plus a sweater and a rain jacket with a hood. All you'll ever need.

Bring a range of clothing. It could be hot or it might not be. Over 4 weeks it’s highly, highly unlikely to be warm and dry all the time.

Unless you pack weeks in advance, simply follow the daily weather prior to going over. That will give you the most current conditions. As others have stated, prepare for anything. The weather prognosticators over there are no better than those in the U.S.

Thank you all for your excellent advice! I knew you wouldn’t disappoint!
I’m going to watch the forecast and I’m packing summer clothes with a sweater and rain jacket.
Can’t wait!

I really don't think the current forecast on the day of departure is very helpful for a one-month trip. You won't have much of a clue about the the last 3/4 of the trip. I'd want some summer clothes, a warm layer, a rain jacket and an umbrella no matter what the forecast says.

Click this link and you will see a map for temperature. Click the arrow bottom left and it will show a prediction for the next 7 days. You should then select Clouds from the menu and drag back to today and then do the prediction again. Note that you can click and drag this map to show other parts of the world.

The British Isles are currently stuck in a situation with westerly weather coming off the Atlantic with Low Pressure systems. It is about the worst summer weather that I can ever recall. June however was hot with virtually every day sunny and the country was heading for a drought. Drought risk now sorted - bring back the sunshine!

weather in the UK and Europe no longer pays any attention at all to tradition. hrrrmmph...

I am currently in Bavaria watching people going around in puffer jackets. It is August for goodness sake. Haven't had a dry day in a week. In Bayern. In July/August. Hasn't been over 22C since we arrived. What we'd call English weather. But English weather has been all over the shop this year.

Looking at the Central England Temperature (which has a dataset going back to 1659), July was 16.1C, compared with June at 17.0C. This is the first year July has been cooler than June on average since 1970 (which was particularly cold at times with a ground frost on 22 July).

July has been 0.5C below the average for 1981-2010, but 0.2C above the average for 1961 to 1990. So actually a bit warmer than an 'old fashioned' summer!

James - you must be a lot younger than me - I can remember plenty of English Summers worse than this one!

We were in London in 2018 for the middle two weeks in September and needed layers. I wore shorts a couple of days but those same days I always needed layers in the evening. And a rain jacket and heavy sweater underneath for a day and a half. I never left the hotel without a light jacket in the daytime.