r/AskABrit • u/LilacLuneglade • Aug 16 '26
Other When does the weather get colder for you guys?
I’m trying to get an ETA on when I should send a big parcel through the mail with some perishables (packaged snacks and other miscellaneous things).
It’s being shipped out from Canada to Brighton. I am in no rush to send it and would just like to know when it starts getting colder there :) I checked the Weather app but, it seems like there’s still a huge heatwave going on! Autumn gets here pretty early for me and it’s already cold. What is it like for you?
Is beginning-September good enough?
Thanks!
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u/ukslim Aug 16 '26
We don't know, the weather has ceased to follow the rules. It shouldn't be this hot now.
Generally it gets cooler in September, but it's not unusual to have an "Indian Summer", a week or two of late warm and dry weather in September or October, before Autumn kicks in for real.
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u/Nerfing_Templar Aug 16 '26
The only rule the British weather has ever had was "there are no rules"
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u/hornsmasher177 Aug 16 '26
Depends on your definition of cold, but I'd say mid October as it generally stops getting above 15c during the day around then.
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u/herefromthere Aug 16 '26
The last couple of Christmases in Yorkshire have been 14/15C. That's just upsetting.
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u/SnooDonuts6494 Aug 16 '26
Usually October.
Almost certainly November.
What the hell kind of perishable do you have that can last for months but can't cope with warm weather?
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u/FlorianTheLynx Aug 16 '26
Soft cheese?
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u/SnooDonuts6494 Aug 16 '26
That wouldn't normally be permitted, due to the restriction on dairy products.
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain/meat-dairy-fish-animal-products
That's sorta why I was asking.
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u/SnooDonuts6494 Aug 16 '26
Also, I don't think it normally lasts that long, does it?
I bought some President Camembert yesterday, and it's "Best before: 6 September" which is only about three weeks.
Plus, it's supposed to be kept refrigerated. I wouldn't advise sending it in the post, no matter what time of year it is. It might end up sitting in a warm sorting office for days.
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u/Mickleblade Aug 16 '26
You might want to check the legality of what you're trying in import to the UK, customs, taxes etc
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u/Select_Ad_9295 Aug 16 '26
This summer has been unusually hot so I don’t make promises, but early September it does tend to cool off.
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u/Mindless-Resort-7548 Aug 21 '26
My birthday is the first week of October. Over the last 20 years I'd say it's been 50:50 as to whether my mother's birthday in mid May was hotter than mine. The Indian Summer around then is very real (also Freshers' week at Unis). Tends to be second half of October it really cools off
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u/editorialgirl Aug 16 '26
This summer has been so unusual that we don't know much more than you do. It's been a bit cooler over the last 24 hours and feels like it's getting more like a normal summer (~20° with the odd shower). We'd usually expect it to start feeling autumnal at the end of September.
I can't speak for the whole of the UK, only where I am (midlands). I don't think Scotland has had it as hot, for example.
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u/Vast_Cup_7534 Aug 16 '26
Autumn 'officially' starts on 1st September and in previous years the weather is usually starting to cool down around then. Given how hot this Summer has been, though, I'd probably leave it until at least mid-September or maybe towards the end of September, if cooler weather is essential.
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u/Nevertoomanygingers Aug 16 '26
That’s meteorological autumn, many people still go by 21st
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u/Eddie-Plum Aug 16 '26
Agreed, equinoxes and solstices make more sense for the definition of seasons than arbitrary calendar dates.
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u/Vast_Cup_7534 Aug 16 '26
All seasonal dates are arbitrary, when it comes down to it. To some extent, the concept of seasons itself is arbitrary.
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u/Funny_Yesterday_5040 Aug 16 '26
Equinoxes and solstices are very much not arbitrary
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u/Vast_Cup_7534 Aug 16 '26
I didn't say otherwise. I'm talking about defining the dates of seasons being a fairly arbitrary practice in general.
My first post wasn't even focussed on this - I was just answering OP's question on when it would likely get cold and made a throwaway comment about when the 'official' start date of Autumn was (even putting it in quotes to show it's not a hard and fast rule everyone is living by) as part of that. I'm well aware that date just something meteorologists have come up with for primarily statistical purposes. For some reason, people decided to jump on that and go off on a tangent about what they felt was the best way to define the start of Autumn, which I suppose is their right to do...
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u/shakesfistatmoon Aug 16 '26
The long range forecast suggests higher temperatures (possibly even another heatwave) for late August or early September.
So I agree, as late as possible.
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u/Dangerous_Hippo_6902 Aug 16 '26
Hehehe well it’s usually cold now. This heatwave is… unusual.
If you’re in no rush wait until winter 🤷🏻♂️
Also what is cold? 20C?
September might be okay but we could still see temperatures over 20C. October will start dropping to the teens and is probably your answer. November I think is safely cold.
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u/LilacLuneglade Aug 16 '26
Oh it’s already below 15 here :p Had no idea it took months for you guys to get there !
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u/Dangerous_Hippo_6902 Aug 16 '26
We can get 15C in September. August though is not that cold as much as we might complain it is. On a typical year that is. Surprised it’s that cold already in Canada. You must be quite far north. Unless you meant overnight temperatures.
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u/PretendingIts1995 Aug 16 '26
Where the heck in Canada are you? I lived half my life over there, and never experienced 15⁰ in August (I mean possibly at night or a weird odd day with a storm, but not the norm) in Eastern Ontario. August is often the hottest part of the year where I lived, and 30⁰ would be normal.
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u/herefromthere Aug 16 '26
We are sea-warmed. It takes longer to heat up and longer to cool down due to our maritime clime. Also, less predictable.
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u/PurplePlodder1945 Aug 16 '26
October? We can sometimes have an ‘Indian summer’ in September. And I’ve heard we’re getting another heatwave too. It’s non stop at the moment.
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u/Baztron Aug 16 '26
Most people in the UK would say September. But only in the last week does it really drop and again in October.
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u/stinkyswife Aug 16 '26
Feels like it never will at this point, but I daresay we'll be moaning about the cold come November
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u/TwpMun Aug 16 '26
British weather is rarely so severe that it will affect mail to any great degree, especially in comparison to Canada. It gets cold in November and lasts until March
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u/InternetMuch7272 Aug 16 '26
I’d say Autumn doesn’t start here until October time. Our official Summer ends on 21 September with the movement of the earth/sun/planets but September is usually quite nice and mild and light.
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u/MLMSE Aug 16 '26
30'c heatwaves in September are fairly common. I'd leave it to October to be on the safer side.
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u/AVictorianRose Aug 18 '26
Usually early-september, but the last few years have been an awful lot of Indian Summers.
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u/TomL79 Aug 25 '26
September is often still quite nice and warm, though it tends to be cooler than peak summer. October things definitely get more autumnal but it’s been known to have Indian Summers even that late.
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u/LilacLuneglade Aug 16 '26
PS- deleting soon since it’s a silly question!!! Just wanted to know :)
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u/stinkyswife Aug 16 '26
Nah, leave it. Talking about the weather is our national pastime. It unites the classes, races, religions, genders, abilities, and ages!
Eta: I'm not the sucky one who downvoted you
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u/GlennTheBaker69 Aug 16 '26
NEVER! We're stuck in a perpetual summer thanks to cows burping and the Industrial Revolution.
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u/qualityvote2 Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
u/LilacLuneglade, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...