My Not Joking About the Winter Weather

My non-UK friends sometimes ask about the best time of the year to visit here.  My answer is always the same:  April through mid-September, unless you like to be wet and cold.

I’m not being a smarty pants (I see how some might suspect that of me…).   The weather in autumn and winter in North Yorkshire is utter shite.  Every single day, the odds are against the sun breaking through the cloud cover. It’s not terribly cold but Minnesota standards but 40 degrees F, with rain and 15 mph winds is downright unpleasant. Trust me you don't want to wrestle an umbrella in high winds.

Here’s the data from our weather station starting November 1.

The temperature isn't the problem...

The rain is unrelenting. Given that there are only 6 days without rain on this graph, I'd love to which one is considered the drought....

This is why it's hard to feel dry in this place. We turn on the dehumidifier as soon as we close the windows in the fall. It ran 24/7 for nearly two months before we got it down to 50% humidity in the house. We dumped about 6 liters of water a day!

The wind is almost as tiresome as the rain....

This is why I suggest visiting is the slightly drier parts of the year. It's North Yorkshire so you need to bring proper rain gear no matter when you visit.