Weather

Where in the British Isles? London in March would be like around end of November/December, in Sutter Creek. A bit warmer in April. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't rain much in London, considerably less than California during winter. It is however changeable, therefore it's a good idea to always carry a small pocket umbrella in your purse.

Per the Weather Underground website from the middle of March to the middle of April, "Of 465 days between 1996 and 2012, rain was the most frequent condition. Additionally, 232 days were recorded with precipitation." The average high and low temperatures for that time period are 50F and 39F.

I should have asked specifically Edinburgh Scotland and Ireland's weather in March and April.

Hi Shirley. Try weatherbase.com. It has detailed weather info by city for all over the world. Enjoy your trip!

Thank you Bob

Shirley, both of us live in northern California. Believe me. In London it doesn't rain as much as here in winter. It might be cloudy a lot more, but they don't get as much precipitation. I don't think people outside of California realize how much rain we get around here in winter. It must be aHollywood deception.

"it never rains in southern California" I have been to London 4 times. Three times in summer, once in March( middle). It has rained on each visit. It wasn't torrential downpours but its grey drizzly rain. On my March visit I brought my wool pea coat and a scarf. I had to buy a hat, gloves and an umbrella.
It rained every day almost for a week and was sleeting and nasty ,, cold cold cold. Bring warm clothes and a good rain/ wind jacket. An umbrella may or may not be useful if its windy.

Hi Shirley, I see you have subsequently specified Edinburgh and Ireland- Edinburgh will most likely be a couple of degrees cooler than London, and Ireland probably also. Best idea is to check that website you were given in an earlier post.
But it's all unpredictable. Pat's advice on how to dress is right on the money.

There is absolutely no point in worrying about UK weather this far in advance. Anything you get off a website will be average but our weather is wildly variable and you have no way of predicting what it'll be like when you go. Check the Met Office website the day you pack, and then be prepared for the actual weather to be completely different.

The only way to deal with weather is to use a web site to find the max/min for each location, then prepare for five degrees on either side, and another foot of rain/snow/sleet/hail (no kidding, I went through all four interspersed by bright sunshine within an hour a few weeks ago on Lewis and I hadn't moved more than a couple of miles). Two layers (thin), plus a hooded, waterPROOF jacket that covers your tail, knit hat, sun hat, thin gloves, and whatever women wear on their legs should cover you down to a few degrees under freezing if you're moving around. That's my basic travel kit anywhere in the world any time of year - - unless I know it's going to be really rough and I need to look like the Michelin Man.

You cannot let a little weather get in your way. Just be prepared for whatever is thrown your way. And learn how to use the Underground in London where you can avoid bad weather. We were in London the first of April, 2012, and the weather was a little cool but just fine.

"I don't think people outside of California realize how much rain we get around here in winter." Or how cold it is near you in San Francisco, even in summer (especially in the morning). That's one U.S. town where the oft-quoted phrase around here, "only tourists wear shorts" might actually be somewhat accurate. On the other hand, we're getting ready for blizzard conditions tomorrow night/Thursday...I'll take Freemont or SF weather instead. Shirley: I use Weather Underground for planning trips to Europe and NOAA for the US. They're both quite good.

Michael you are right about SF in summer. You are lucky if you reach 60-65 degrees F. However it's the same temperature in winter, just more rain, lots of it sometimes (esp. Jan and Feb and sometimes March). So in winter it's a comfortable temperature' But just drive a few miles away from the Pacific Ocean, even just on this side of the Bay, and in Summer you can easily pass 80 F or even 90F just across the hills surrounding the SF bay. As we say in the Bay Area: we don't have seasons, we drive to them. But Shirley is in Sutter Creek, in the Sierra Foothills, just East of Sacramento. I used to go there sometimes on business in winter and now I sometimes go there wine tasting. Every single morning I had to scrape ice off the windshield. And when it rains in winter, it can be sleet. Lots of micro-climates in California.

Statistically, April is the driest month of the year for Edinburgh with an average total of about 1.5 inches - but that could be evenly spread throughout all the days. Average daytime high temps around 11C/53F. Recorded extremes are min -6C/20F max 23C/73F.

If you are going for 5-6 days, you can probably just look at the long-range forecast a day before you leave and pack accordingly. If you are going for longer, there is no way to know. You just have to pack for all the eventualities, using one or more of the weather websites for historical data.

Sure it rains a lot in NorCal in winter, but there's vitually no rain between April and October. Whereas much of Europe, including the British Isles, have rain year round. As a lifelong Northern Californian I have to say, while San Francisco can be chilly (and yes, only tourists wear shorts 99% of the time) Californians of all stripes, including Northern Californians, are still ridiculously spoiled when it comes to weather, even the colder snowy parts, by comparison with central and northern Europe. Enjoy it. Woodland/Sacramento for 17 years, Oakland/Alameda for 14. Come at me bros.

Yes, we are spoiled here in N. California.