Humidity in The UK

gregoryjones1022

My wife are on the Aug 17 England, Scottland and Wales tour. The weather forecasts predict humidity in the 70 - 80% range with temperature in the 60s -70s. I am hoping that someone could comment on whether or not this level of humidity at these temperatures will cause unpleasant, sweaty conditions.

Thanks, Greg Jones

British

I am in Northern England right now and it is rare for it to be humid, but yesterday I was walking around the town with friends in a long sleeve t-shirt, we were waiting for our rooms to be ready and we were very warm. We are in a charming old hotel but on the third floor. I've had a restless very hot night since there is no A/c. The window was open all night both in the bedroom and bathroom. We are only just now getting a cool breeze. While I would say the humidity is nowhere near as bad as we get at home in our part of the US, yesterday was lovely, afternoon tea, wonderful Georgian architecture, beautiful gardens and watching the friends I am traveling with try the pork pie offered at the reception we had to attend. Ah England!
I notice you are looking at temperatures for August 17th onwards. I cannot figure out what date it is today since I am on vacation and we all got maybe two hours sleep over on the plane, arriving at the equivalent of 3-30am US time yesterday, but predicting temperatures that far ahead, wow. With humidity of 70 to 80% that seems more like it will be raining but warm.

AlanS

We've been on The Best of Ireland since the 27th of July and will be headed to Dublin tomorrow as our tour comes to an end. We have had it all- rain, drizzle, mist, fog, and even some sun, and temps that have ranged from mid 50's to high 60's . While it has been damp on ocassion, it has never been what I would call humid (warm and moist) and uncomfortable- the "humidity" has all been in the liquid form and cool.

ndvb

I just returned from living for two months in London. I didn't get to Scotland or Wales, but, like AlanS, I had all sorts of weather. Until the last couple of weeks, it was unseasonably cool (50s and 60s) and wet (rain, fog, mist, drizzle), but still had days of sunshine and temps in the 80s. As is typical,l there was an hour, or so, of some sort of weather which changed to something else, etc. As for humidity, some days were a little humid, but never at the top of the scale. Even the last couple of weeks only had a couple of days that climbed into 80s, like a said above.

I walk a lot and kind of like the humidity so that I sweat and burn more calories (I like to eat on trips like this). I never found the humidity to be so high that I was soaking wet. Some days I would use a sweatshirt to create the heat I wanted. When not walking for distance and speed, temps and humidity were very comfortable for when I was casually out and about with friends or sightseeing.

Like British said, there were nights when it was warm, but for the most part nights were cool and air conditioning wasn't necessary. When it was warm I just used a fan and it worked well. My flat was on the Thames and there is usually a nice breeze following the river. I also had a balcony with two big sliding doors that let the air come in. I usually had to shut them at night. Hotels tend to have those little windows with stops to keep them from opening wide. Again, I was in London most of the time which means I was basically on the southern most portion of your trip.

I went on the E, S, and W tour in 2012 and we had great weather, absolutely wonderful. It was pleasant (60s and 70s most of the time) and dry. I only remember a couple of days with any type of precipitation, and it was usually for only a short time.

Enjoy the trip, it is a good one, sweaty or not.

Richardb

Hi, Greg. I guess it is all relative to what one is accustomed to. I have lived in England for almost 76 years and yes, humidity does vary. Our climate is very variable but the basic levels need to be compared with your own home.
Our local forecast for the next week is mainly dry with showers and humidity of between 60-85%.
Being an island that can change and although you will find London quite humid most of the time it gets fresher as you move north to Scotland then back to Wales. Remember that our weather comes, generally, from across the Atlantic and usually hits the west coast of Scotland first.
The most reliable site where you can get very detailed forecasts for up to 30 days ahead
www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather .
Enjoy our country - I know that Tauck will make sure you do.
Richard