London Layover Weather and Daylight
Temperature, rain and sunshine month by month — and the number nobody publishes, which is how much daylight is left after the drive in.
What the weather does to a London layover
Not much, and that is the point. London is mild and damp rather than extreme, and every driving product here keeps you in a vehicle between stops. Rain shortens how long you want to stand outside Buckingham Palace; it does not stop the day.
Daylight is the thing that changes everything. London loses eight and three-quarter hours of daylight between June and December. A six-hour connection landing at one o'clock in June leaves you five hours of light after the drive in; the same connection in December leaves you under three, and the last of it is dusk. Nobody publishes that number, and it decides more about your afternoon than the temperature ever will.
Work out your own light budget before you book. Take the sunset time for your month from the table below, subtract an hour for the drive back, and that is the moment your photographs stop working. If the answer is uncomfortable, either take an earlier connection or book one of the after-dark products — the three-hour night loop is on the London Layover tours hub, and London lit up is its own thing.
London month by month
Temperature, rainfall and sunshine are Met Office long-term averages for 1991 to 2020 at the Heathrow location. Sunrise and sunset are calculated for central London on the fifteenth of each month.
January
Cold, grey and short. Sunset at 16:20 means an afternoon landing arrives into the dark, and the photographs you came for need to happen before three. Rain falls on around eleven days. The upside is that nowhere is busy.
Average high: 8°C · low: 3°C
Rain: 59mm over 11.5 days · Sunshine: 61 hours
Sunrise: 08:00 · sunset: 16:20 · daylight: 8h 20m
February
The driest month of the year at Heathrow on the long-term average, and daylight has already stretched to ten hours. Still cold, but a midday landing now has a usable afternoon in front of it. Sunset moves past five.
Average high: 9°C · low: 3°C
Rain: 45mm over 9.5 days · Sunshine: 79 hours
Sunrise: 07:16 · sunset: 17:15 · daylight: 10h 00m
March
Sunshine doubles from February and rain days drop to eight or nine. The clocks go forward at the end of the month, which adds an hour to every evening at a stroke. A good month for a layover and not yet a busy one.
Average high: 12°C · low: 4°C
Rain: 39mm over 8.5 days · Sunshine: 124 hours
Sunrise: 06:16 · sunset: 18:05 · daylight: 11h 50m
April
Almost fourteen hours of daylight and sunset just before eight. Showers are frequent but short. This is the first month where an evening arrival still leaves you something to look at.
Average high: 15°C · low: 6°C
Rain: 42mm over 8.8 days · Sunshine: 177 hours
Sunrise: 06:06 · sunset: 19:56 · daylight: 13h 50m
May
Long, mild and among the sunniest months on record here. Fifteen and a half hours of daylight means almost any connection lands into usable light. The parks are at their best and the crowds have not fully arrived.
Average high: 18°C · low: 9°C
Rain: 46mm over 8.0 days · Sunshine: 207 hours
Sunrise: 05:10 · sunset: 20:45 · daylight: 15h 35m
June
The longest days of the year, with sunset after nine and light in the sky well past ten. Warm rather than hot. Heathrow security queues start to lengthen, so keep the return buffer honest.
Average high: 22°C · low: 12°C
Rain: 47mm over 8.3 days · Sunshine: 208 hours
Sunrise: 04:43 · sunset: 21:20 · daylight: 16h 35m
July
The warmest and sunniest month, with 218 hours of sunshine on the long-term average and the fewest rain days. It is also the busiest, at the airport and at every landmark. Book earlier than you think you need to.
Average high: 24°C · low: 14°C
Rain: 46mm over 7.9 days · Sunshine: 218 hours
Sunrise: 05:01 · sunset: 21:13 · daylight: 16h 10m
August
Warm, slightly wetter than July, and still very busy. Daylight has begun to shorten noticeably — nearly two hours less than in June. Lounges fill up in the school holidays, and reviewers advise booking one ahead.
Average high: 23°C · low: 14°C
Rain: 53mm over 8.4 days · Sunshine: 202 hours
Sunrise: 05:46 · sunset: 20:25 · daylight: 14h 40m
September
Mild, reasonably dry, and quieter than August once the schools go back. Twelve and a half hours of daylight is plenty for any connection. Arguably the best month of the year for a London layover.
Average high: 20°C · low: 12°C
Rain: 50mm over 7.9 days · Sunshine: 157 hours
Sunrise: 06:36 · sunset: 19:18 · daylight: 12h 40m
October
Wetter, with rain on around eleven days, and the clocks go back at the end of the month. Sunset drops from just after six to just after four in a single weekend, which catches people out badly. Check which side of that date you land.
Average high: 16°C · low: 9°C
Rain: 65mm over 10.8 days · Sunshine: 115 hours
Sunrise: 07:24 · sunset: 18:09 · daylight: 10h 40m
November
The wettest month on the long-term average and one of the darkest. Sunset at 16:13 means a midday landing has about three hours of light. A driving tour still works; a walking one is harder to enjoy.
Average high: 11°C · low: 5°C
Rain: 67mm over 11.2 days · Sunshine: 71 hours
Sunrise: 07:19 · sunset: 16:13 · daylight: 8h 55m
December
The shortest days of the year, with fewer than eight hours of daylight and sunset before four. The compensation is real: the West End lights, the markets, and the quietest landmarks of the year. Plan the day around the light, not the clock.
Average high: 9°C · low: 3°C
Rain: 57mm over 10.8 days · Sunshine: 55 hours
Sunrise: 08:00 · sunset: 15:52 · daylight: 7h 50m
Climate figures: Met Office location-specific long-term averages. Daylight computed for 51.5074°N, 0.1278°W and checked against the published solstice times.
The seasons, and which one you want
Spring, March to May. The best balance of the year. Daylight climbs from under twelve hours to over fifteen, sunshine roughly doubles, and the crowds have not arrived. If you can choose your connection, choose one of these.
Summer, June to August. The longest days and the warmest weather, and also the busiest airport of the year. Everything works; everything takes longer. Build a larger return buffer than you would in April.
Autumn, September to November. September is quietly the best month of all. October and November get wet and dark quickly, and the clock change at the end of October moves sunset by an hour overnight.
Winter, December to February. Short and grey, but the landmarks are empty and the West End is lit. A driving tour handles winter far better than a walking one — see the winter guide for the version of this with the arithmetic in it.
What to wear for a few hours outside
You will be in and out of a vehicle all afternoon, standing on pavements for ten or twenty minutes at a time. That is a different problem from a full day out, and it has a simple answer: one layer more than you think, and shoes you can walk a mile in.
All year: something waterproof with a hood. Rain falls on eight to
twelve days a month in every single month, and London rain is usually light and brief
rather than heavy.
November to March: a proper coat, and gloves in January and February.
Standing still by the river at 8°C is colder than the number suggests.
June to August: sunglasses and water. The vehicles are air-conditioned and
the streets are not.
Any month: leave the umbrella. Westminster Bridge is windy and you will
be getting in and out of a car; a hood is easier.
One listing operates in all weather and says so, which is worth reading as an instruction rather than a boast. If you are on the walking tour, the packing list matters more — see how booking works for what each product expects of you.
Best time of day to be in the city
Early morning is the prize, and only an overnight connection reaches
it. The landmarks are empty, the light is good, and the guard change happens at
10:45.
Late morning to mid-afternoon is when most layovers land, and it is fine.
Expect company at Westminster and the Tower.
Late afternoon in winter is a photography problem — check your
sunset time.
After dark is genuinely good in London and badly underrated on a layover.
Piccadilly Circus, the Eye and Parliament all look better lit than they do at four o'clock
in November. There is more on what each hour reaches in
things to do on a London layover and on
the long-layover page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the weather likely to do?
London is mild and damp rather than extreme: Met Office averages for the Heathrow area run from about 8°C in January to 24°C in July, with rain on eight to twelve days a month all year. The bigger factor on a layover is daylight, which drops to under eight hours in December. There is a month-by-month breakdown on the weather page.
Can I see Changing the Guard on a layover?
Only on the right day and with the right landing time. Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace begins at 10:45 and runs about 45 minutes, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and it can be cancelled at short notice in wet weather. If it matters to you, say so when you book so the route can be built round it.
What can you actually see in four hours in London?
The Westminster cluster and one river crossing, comfortably. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and Trafalgar Square sit within a few minutes of each other, and the drive to Tower Bridge adds twenty. Anything with a queue is out.