Weather early to mid October

Bostonphil, it’s really impossible to predict! So far the weather forecast for London is only going up to 2nd Oct, and that says light rain probably all day, but that really doesn’t mean that the rest of October will be wet every day. For instance, rain is predicted at some time every day this week, but not all day every day, and next week is supposed to be sunny every day. Generally London rain is either drizzle or showers, it’s unusual for it to pour all day. You’re already thinking of a raincoat and umbrella, so with waterproof shoes, you’re prepared. And you might even be surprised with sun!

It's hard to predict the weather a couple of weeks out. It's not a given that it will rain a lot. I find London relatively dry, compared to west of Scotland where I'm originally from. Your temperature estimates sound about right. I'd expect a bit of everything within the course of a day. Remember, the British Isles is very much a marine climate. This time of year Atlantic weather systems can blast through, or linger a bit longer. It just depends.

I left London for Scotland this morning. It's wet and windy here, but autumn (fall) definitely arrived in London yesterday after a spell of warm and dry weather.

It’s really impossible to say. Those temperatures seem about right for early October but you can luck out with some warm and sunny weather. The weather has never been that predictable here, hence our national obsession with talking about it!

Rain wise, it doesn’t often rain all day in London but it certainly can. Over the course of a week you could well have some rain every day but you will also have dry spells. Showers are more common than sustained rainfall. Bring a waterproof jacket and layers. Then you’re ready for anything.

I like how we’ve all said exactly the same thing here. Agreement at last.

You answered your own question …. With climate change no one knows

To say it will rain daily isn’t true. It might but not a guarantee.

I’ve gone to London for decades in the Fall months, usually November. Can count on one hand how many times it rained. Took a travel umbrella once, never used it.

Just take a rain proof jacket with a hood. You’ll be fine.

Lastly, relax.

I've been dying for a thread about weather to come up since I joined this forum. Love talking about the weather.

For whatever a weather prediction may be worth these days, Accuweather, says the first half of October in London should be in the 70’s and gradually fall into the 60’s by mid-October. The pre-dawn lows are forecast to be around 45-50 degrees, but unless you plan to be out & about in the pre-dawn hours- that doesn’t really matter, does it.
The good news is only one day of rain is forecast.
I’d swap the umbrella and trench coat and plan to layer with a hooded waterproof windbreaker, a couple long sleeve thermal shirts along with short sleeve shirts, and a merino wool sweater. That should lighten your luggage quite a bit and streamline your wardrobe.
Cheers!

Well, I will keep checking with the forecast but it does not matter because I now pretty much know what I am probably going to be bringing.

Also forecasts are often incorrect especially in the age of climate change.

I have a long Towne by London Fog trench coat. Someone gave it to me and it is a little big so it comes down to almost my ankles. With a sweater underneath, I think it will work perfectly when needed

The weather could do absolutely anything, right up to the Great Storm of 1987. The one most unlikely thing to have is snow.

A few days ago there was awful rain in Devon and Somerset, and today I've been a drowned rat in Yorkshire- where there has been extensive flooding, one railway line under flood watch due to possible damage, and the West Coast main railway line closed today twice- very early morning before 7am due to overhead line damage in Scotland, and early evening in Lancashire due to a fallen tree.

You can never tell where such weather systems can hit- that could have been London, not Yorkshire or Devon.

Equally it could be warm and sunny.

Be prepared for almost anything. A reliable forecast does not usually extend out for more than 3 or 4 days.

I went to the west coast of Wales and Scotland in September/October and did appreciate an unlined trench coat in the windy Castles. Although there were a few days that were quite warm in the south and middle of England. I wasn't wearing a jacket at Stonehenge on the Equinox.

Stuart,
Tree on overhead lines north of Rugby left me 90 minutes late getting to Motherwell today. Speed restrictions north of Oxenholme too. I could see how high all the rivers were coming up through Lancs and Cumbria. Lot more rain than we've had in the south east.

OP how do you handle rain at home? May, June & October are Austin's wettest months, and Austin receives more rain than London.

https://weatherspark.com/

My experience is that rain comes and goes in London and is usually not in the form of a heavy downpour, but one leaves one's hotel room without a rain jacket or rain coat and umbrella at one's peril. It is not fun to get soaked to the skin, especially not with the cool temperatures you may encounter on an overcast October day in London. The city's too large to head out unencumbered, with the plan to return to the hotel for rain gear later if it's needed.

Rather than basing my packing on averages, I look at 5 years' worth of actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics on timeanddate.com:

London weather October 2022

Just looking at last year's data, you can see that it usually got up into the low to mid-60s (F), but not much before noon, and the temperature dropped rapidly after 6 PM.

Use the pull-down box at the right, above the graph, to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box at the upper right to change the location.

I normally travel with just a rain jacket since a raincoat is bulky and wouldn't fit in my suitcase on warm, dry hotel-change days. On this year's Feb/Mar trip to Rome/Naples/Salerno with only 4 total hotel stays as opposed to my usual 20 to 30, I decided to take a lightweight, unlined raincoat. I figured it wouldn't be a major burden on that trip and I could shove it into my tote bag if I needed to when shifting hotels. At the last minute, I added my rain jacket to the suitcase because I didn't want to have to carry a full-length coat around with me, day after day, in case it rained.

In the end, on that particular trip, the combination was worthwhile. On days when rain was unlikely, I either wore the jacket (it was very cool before noon, and there was some rain on quite a few days) or carried it with me, tied around my waist. On days when significant rain seemed likely, I wore the raincoat--and was sometimes very glad to have it. It meant I didn't feel confined to my hotel room during really wet periods.

I wouldn't recommend that type of duplication to a carry-on traveler or to someone changing hotels frequently, but I'd do it again for an off-season, mostly-stay-put trip.

VAP

We wuld love to have rain here at home. We are in a massive drought although we finally had some rain last week, the first time in four months.

I am retired and I do not go out when severe weather is predicted. We have torrential rains in Austin, like monsoons.

When heavy rain is predicted, we stock up on food and some stock up on batteries etc. You stock up and hunker down.

As said, I do not go anywhere by choice but I have had doctor's appointments at times and a few months ago got soaked trying to get home.

I do not drive and take the bus.

Thank you for the link

acraven

Thanks for the link . I will keep checking as I get closer to my trip

I am going to wear my raincoat to the airport and while getting on the plane. Once I get on the plane, I will take it off, roll it up and put it behind my back for support.

I agree that it is not fun to get soaked. It happened to me a few months ago trying to get home after a doctor's appointment. I was so wet when I got home that I had to peel the wet clothes off of me.

I travel very light bringing one rolling bag, a backpack and a sling bag. I believe that I will have to put my sling bag into the backpack because I do not check my rolling bag.

I think my long raincoat will work well for different weather condition. I will also bring one sweater which I will also wear to the airport.

isn31c

I have a friend who says that the best job is the person reporting the weather because you can predict rain about 50% and or sun about 50% and always be right

We have very unpredictable weather in CentralTexas. The only thing that you can count on is that it is going to be hot for over 4 months of the year. The question always is "just how hot". This past summer has been brutal and we are still there. Today was in the mid to high 90's but down from 109. It is actually feeling cool to us who weathered the heat.

And we have torrential rains at time and freezes in the winter.