Is the weather really constantly grey & gloomy in the UK vs the 4 seasons we have in most states of the US?

Question

I have friends that live in the UK that say the weather is dismal. I also have friends that live in other European countries & i ask them what they think of England & they say it is constantly raining. I want to hear what its like from people other than my friends.

Answer 1

It is actually quite warm in the summer most years.

It's not constantly raining otherwise we'd be flooded all the time (yes I know it's going to happen soon).

Most of the time its spitting or just cloudy but when it's warm it is sticky and humid.

Answer 2

No don't be silly we have 4 seasons like everyone else.

We may not have blazing hot summers every year, but we do have them. We may not have snow every winter, but we do have it. Our leaves fall off the trees in autumn and flowers grow in spring. It rains everywhere. I can't remember the last time I went to work in the rain. So it doesn't rain all the time. We just like moaning about it.

Answer 3

The weather in the UK is very changable and unpredictable because we are an island located on the edge of a continent.  This means that seasons are more variable and the weather changes more frequently.

In most areas of the US, the weather is much more predictable, as inner continental locations usually are; summers are hotter and winters are colder than the UK and there are longer periods of sustained sunshine.  You must also bear in mind that the UK lies on a lattitude much further north than the US, bear in mind that even most of the population of Canada are more southerly than the UK; Montreal in Canada is on the same lattitude as the South of France!.

On balance, the weather in the UK just seems more dismal because, at any time, a sunny day can become overcast, but if you're used to the sun, you only remember the parts of the day that were clody and forget the sunny part.  I must admit, the only time I have visited the US was when I stayed in New York in October, and the weather was no different from the UK at that time.

Answer 4

we have 4 seasons too. I live in north scotland and while the winter can be pretty miserable and never ending,summer is generally dry and warm,we've had some really sunny days in May but my Granny always said "never cast a cloot till May is oot!"

Answer 5

most of the time yes =[

we get the occasional glimmer or a season evry now an then =]

Answer 6

We have 4 seasons to !

We can have hot summers and cold winters,

Although this year we had a really warm January,

And a snowy march,

We had about 3 weeks of really hot weather early in may and now its a bit cloudy and we have had a bit of rain over the last coupla days.  Thats spring !

Autumn can be quite sunny but chilli,

Summer is up and down.

So our weather is a bit temperamental..

but the stereotype of grey rainy uk is  annoying !

And of course the 4 different countries , and west & east and north & south can have different weathers.

Answer 7

well in most parts it has the four seasons

Answer 8

um, well looking out the window now.....we have grey clouds, no blue sky, no sun and spots of rain, and its alo quite cold....so yh, generally its grey and misserable!! although i have to say, it was really hot and sunny yesterday!

Answer 9

I lived in both the UK and the US and I prefer the seasonal changes in the US.

Answer 10

The UK, on average, has about the same amount of rain as New York, and rather less than Texas or Florida.

But: it varies a lot by region with Scotland and Wales getting more, on top of a general West/East divide.  See below.

The other factor is that we don't have a sharply defined rainy season, where many countries get there rain for the year out of the way in a few months.   We can have rain anywhen, though it's less common in the summer (where an accepted pattern is "three hot days and a thunderstorm")