Where does the data come from?
This lookup uses data from the HadUK Grid dataset
(opens in new tab), which is produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre. HadUK Grid is one of the main products used by scientists to monitor and research the UK’s changing climate.
The data for 2026 is provisional, with fewer observations feeding into calculations due to lags in data availability. As such, the precise values could change slightly in future as more data comes available. The historical averages are calculated over a 30-year period from 1991-2020, which matches the standard period used by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
The HadUK dataset displays temperature and rainfall data across a uniform grid covering the entire landmass of the UK. The data does not cover the Channel Islands. Every value on the grid is an estimate for the centre point of a 1km by 1km grid box, the most detailed climate data publicly available for the UK. The values are created using observations from land-based weather stations across the country, and by taking into account additional factors such as altitude, terrain and distance from the coast to scientifically “fill in the gaps” between weather stations.
What do we mean by your area?
We’ve matched every active postcode in the UK to its nearest 1km by 1km grid cell in the HadUK dataset.
The results displayed for your area represent a mean average of that grid cell and the surrounding grid cells to your location. For most areas, this represents a 5km square centred on your postcode. Along irregular coastlines and on small islands, the nearest grid cells are chosen to match the shape of the coastline or island, but no cells are further than 7km away.
This approach aims to avoid sharp jumps between neighbouring locations which may occasionally arise due to uncertainties in the data, while still making use of the most detailed dataset available to capture local weather conditions across the UK’s varied geography.
What does your area’s weather data represent?
The average temperature represents the mean average of the selection of grid cells across the month or season.
The maximum temperature is the mean average of the daily maximums recorded across all nearest grid cells for the month or season; the minimum temperature is the mean average of the daily minimums.
The rainfall is the total amount of rain for the month or season, averaged across the selection of grid cells.
To calculate the number of days above the heatwave threshold, we first averaged the daily maximum temperature for each grid cell with its nearest grid cells on every day. Using the Met Office’s heatwave thresholds
(opens in new tab), we determined how many maximum daily temperatures exceeded the threshold for your location, based on the centre of your grid cell. Your area’s heatwave threshold may be approximate if your postcode is near a county boundary.
This is not the same as the number of days spent in an official heatwave, where the threshold has to be met or exceeded for at least three consecutive days.
Acknowledgements
Methodology support from Dan Hollis, Amy Doherty and Oli Claydon, UK Met Office.