Widnes gets fewer frosts than 82% of UK towns
In July the day’s top temperature is typically 21.4°C (71°F). Wet weather is most frequent in October and least in March. Keep the boiler serviced for the months from November to April, which average under 10°C.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Widnes at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Widnes feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 833 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and March the driest. About 20 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 12th wettest of 46 Cheshire towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Sunshine by month
Hours of bright sunshine at Shawbury
32 air frosts and 10 days of 25°C a year
On about 32 nights a year the air drops below freezing, and on about under 1 days it stays below freezing all day. About 10 days a year reach 25°C (77°F).
Day counts are 1991–2020 averages from the Met Office’s 2 km grid. The Met Office calls a day of 25°C or more a summer day and a night below 0°C an air frost; ground frosts, on grass, come more often.
The Met Office station at Shawbury
Shawbury is 40 miles south of Widnes, 72 m (236 ft) above sea level. It is the nearest of the 37 long-running stations the Met Office publishes in full; at that distance read it for sunshine and the station’s own record, not as the town’s figures.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.5°C | 1.2°C | 57 mm | 11.7 | 50 |
| February | 8.1°C | 1.2°C | 43 mm | 10.8 | 71 |
| March | 10.3°C | 2.3°C | 43 mm | 8.2 | 109 |
| April | 13.2°C | 3.9°C | 47 mm | 4.4 | 148 |
| May | 16.3°C | 6.7°C | 54 mm | 0.9 | 181 |
| June | 19.1°C | 9.6°C | 59 mm | 0.0 | 173 |
| July | 21.1°C | 11.5°C | 58 mm | 0.0 | 179 |
| August | 20.7°C | 11.4°C | 64 mm | 0.0 | 156 |
| September | 18.1°C | 9.3°C | 61 mm | 0.0 | 127 |
| October | 14.2°C | 6.6°C | 69 mm | 1.8 | 92 |
| November | 10.3°C | 3.5°C | 61 mm | 6.7 | 59 |
| December | 7.7°C | 1.3°C | 66 mm | 11.2 | 48 |
| Year | 13.9°C | 5.7°C | 682 mm | 56 | 1,392 |
Met Office historic station data, Shawbury, 1991–2020 months averaged (a month needs 20 of the 30 years; estimated values counted, missing months left out). Sunshine: Kipp & Zonen recorder.
How Widnes compares
Against the 2,537 towns and cities of 2,500 or more across the UK, each with its own Met Office averages, and its place among Cheshire towns that size.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles: a hill, a valley or the sea can make a real difference over a few miles.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widnes | 21.4°C | 2.3°C | 833 mm |
| Cronton 1.7 mi | 21.2°C about the same | 2.1°C about the same | 875 mm |
| Hale Bank 2.0 mi | 21.4°C about the same | 2.4°C about the same | 833 mm |
| Runcorn 3.1 mi | 21.5°C about the same | 2.0°C about the same | 830 mm |
| Hale 3.6 mi | 21.4°C about the same | 2.4°C about the same | 832 mm |
| Prescot 3.8 mi | 20.7°C 0.7°C cooler | 2.3°C about the same | 913 mm |
| St Helens 5.3 mi | 21.1°C about the same | 2.1°C about the same | 919 mm |
Widnes weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, for the town itself (the Met Office’s HadUK-Grid).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.8°C 46°F | 2.3°C 36°F | 5.0°C | 69 mm 2.7 in |
| February | 8.4°C 47°F | 2.4°C 36°F | 5.5°C | 55 mm 2.1 in |
| March | 11.0°C 52°F | 3.4°C 38°F | 7.2°C | 52 mm 2.0 in |
| April | 13.7°C 57°F | 5.4°C 42°F | 9.6°C | 54 mm 2.1 in |
| May | 16.9°C 62°F | 8.0°C 46°F | 12.5°C | 56 mm 2.2 in |
| June | 19.6°C 67°F | 10.9°C 52°F | 15.3°C | 71 mm 2.8 in |
| July | 21.4°C 71°F | 13.0°C 55°F | 17.3°C | 71 mm 2.8 in |
| August | 20.9°C 70°F | 13.0°C 55°F | 16.9°C | 79 mm 3.1 in |
| September | 18.5°C 65°F | 10.4°C 51°F | 14.5°C | 78 mm 3.1 in |
| October | 14.6°C 58°F | 7.7°C 46°F | 11.3°C | 85 mm 3.4 in |
| November | 10.7°C 51°F | 4.8°C 41°F | 7.8°C | 79 mm 3.1 in |
| December | 8.2°C 47°F | 2.5°C 36°F | 5.3°C | 84 mm 3.3 in |
| Year | 14.3°C | 7.0°C | 10.7°C | 833 mm |
Where Widnes’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Mean temperature, rain and day counts: HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the 6 Met Office 2 km grid squares whose centre lies inside Widnes’s built-up area.
- Highs and lows: the Met Office publishes average daily maxima and minima on its 12 km grid; each is moved by the difference between the town’s 2 km mean temperature and the 12 km square’s, which carries the town’s own height and setting over.
- Weather station and sunshine: Met Office historic station data for Shawbury, 40 miles away, months of 1991–2020 averaged.
- Comparisons: every town and city of 2,500 or more across the UK, all four nations, read the same way.
Met Office HadUK-Grid · Met Office Climate Data Portal · Historic station data. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Questions about Widnes’s climate
How warm does Widnes get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 21.4°C (71°F). About 10 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than 51% of UK towns.
How cold does Widnes get in winter?
January nights average 2.3°C (36°F). The air drops below freezing on about 32 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Widnes get?
About 833 mm (33 in) a year, more than 59% of UK towns. October is the wettest month (85 mm) and March the driest (52 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Met Office station with a sunshine record, Shawbury (40 miles away), averages 1,392 hours of bright sunshine a year. Sunshine isn’t on the town grid, so this is the station’s figure.
Where do these figures come from?
The Met Office’s HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages, which turn thousands of weather stations into a map of the UK in 2 km squares; the page reads the squares inside Widnes. They are 30-year averages, not a forecast.
Contains Met Office data © Crown copyright 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages via the Met Office Climate Data Portal; station averages from Met Office historic station data. Today’s forecast for Widnes →
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.