Reading and Leeds Festivals: what was the weather like at past editions?

At 20 of 33 editions of Reading and Leeds Festivals from 1991 to 2025 (61%), at least one festival day had rain (≥ 1 mm); a day of 30 °C or more came at 1 of 33 editions. Source: ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus), data to 2025.

How it works ↓

Data updated: 2 November 2026 · Sources, licences and data

Calculated 3 November 2026 · weather: ERA5 1991–2025 · edition dates checked 2 November 2026

20 / 33editions with at least one rainy day

29%of festival days rainy

3 / 33editions with mud (≥ 40 mm incl. the week before)

1 / 33editions with a day ≥ 30 °C

6 °C (2014)coldest night

3 mmmedian rain per edition

Climate of the usual dates

If the next edition falls on its usual dates (25–27 August), the weather on those calendar days in 1991–2025 gives these odds:

63% — chance of at least one rainy day
37% — share of rainy days
20 °C — average daily maximum
3% — chance of a day of 30 °C or more
6% — chance of a night below 8 °C

Average daily maximum on these dates: 20.2 °C in 1991–2005, 21.0 °C in 2011–2025.

Reading and Leeds Festivals run over the August bank holiday weekend, and this is the only one of the site's three British festivals to have had a day of 30 °C or more. That doesn't make late summer dry: 29% of festival days were rainy. This page brings together past editions and the climate of the usual dates from the ERA5 reanalysis, while a forecast for particular days is a job for the weather services.

Heat, rain and nights at past editions

That hot day came in 2019: 23–25 August with no rain, a daytime high of 31 °C. On the usual dates, 25–27 August, the chance of such a day is 3%, and of at least one rainy day 63%. In 2024 a single rainy day brought 18 mm, and “mud” built up in 3 editions out of 33. The coldest night was 6 °C (2014), and the chance of a night below 8 °C is just 6%. Pack sun cream and a raincoat together.

Reading and Leeds: whose figures these are

The weather has been calculated for the venue at Reading (an ERA5 cell of about 25 km). Leeds was not calculated separately, so for it these figures are only a rough guide. Reading Festival in 2027 runs 26–29 August at Richfield Avenue.

Weather at past editions

editions with at least one rainy day · Rain, mm

Year	Dates	Rainy days	Rain	Max	Night min
2025	22–24 August	0 / 3	0 mm	24 °C	9 °C
2024	23–25 August	1 / 3	18 mm	21 °C	10 °C
2023	25–27 August	2 / 3	6 mm	19 °C	10 °C
2022	26–28 August	0 / 3	1 mm	24 °C	11 °C
2019	23–25 August	0 / 3	0 mm	31 °C	11 °C
2018	24–26 August	2 / 3	15 mm	18 °C	8 °C
2017	25–27 August	0 / 3	0 mm	24 °C	10 °C
2016	26–28 August	2 / 3	8 mm	25 °C	14 °C
2015	28–30 August	1 / 3	3 mm	20 °C	9 °C
2014	22–24 August	0 / 3	0 mm	19 °C	6 °C
2013	23–25 August	2 / 3	11 mm	26 °C	12 °C
2012	24–26 August	2 / 3	13 mm	20 °C	13 °C
2011	26–28 August	2 / 3	16 mm	18 °C	11 °C
2010	27–29 August	1 / 3	5 mm	18 °C	10 °C
2009	28–30 August	0 / 3	1 mm	18 °C	10 °C
2008	22–24 August	1 / 3	4 mm	20 °C	10 °C
2007	24–26 August	0 / 3	0 mm	26 °C	12 °C
2006	25–27 August	2 / 3	4 mm	21 °C	9 °C
2005	26–28 August	0 / 3	1 mm	23 °C	10 °C
2004	27–29 August	1 / 3	5 mm	20 °C	10 °C
2003	22–24 August	1 / 3	2 mm	26 °C	16 °C
2002	23–25 August	1 / 3	3 mm	22 °C	13 °C
2001	24–26 August	1 / 3	6 mm	26 °C	13 °C
2000	25–27 August	1 / 3	9 mm	26 °C	13 °C
1999	27–29 August	0 / 3	0 mm	23 °C	11 °C
1998	28–30 August	0 / 3	0 mm	21 °C	8 °C
1997	22–24 August	2 / 3	3 mm	24 °C	19 °C
1996	23–25 August	2 / 3	20 mm	20 °C	13 °C
1995	25–27 August	0 / 3	0 mm	23 °C	13 °C
1994	26–28 August	0 / 3	0 mm	21 °C	11 °C
1993	27–29 August	0 / 3	0 mm	20 °C	8 °C
1992	28–30 August	1 / 3	15 mm	18 °C	10 °C
1991	23–25 August	1 / 3	2 mm	23 °C	11 °C

How to read these numbers

ERA5 is a reanalysis on a 0.25° grid (about 25 km): it counts slightly more light-rain days than nearby weather stations (by about 5–7 percentage points) and gives daytime highs about 1–2.5 °C below station readings, so real hot days were hotter than shown here.
Edition window: the official programme days (main festival days, without camping or warm-up days before the start).
“Mud” means at least 40 mm of rain over the festival days and the week before.
Dates of past editions follow the rule described in Wikipedia (en: Reading and Leeds Festivals): “The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend”. We applied it to 1991–2025, leaving out 2020–21 (cancelled or held differently).

Dates and sources

Coordinates: 51.454, -0.973; ERA5 cell centred at 51.50, -1.00 (average ground height of the cell 96 m).