Updated: 2026-07-31
September's heat record at Leeds Weather Centre stands at 28.2°C, set on 5 September 1999. This is the highest maximum temperature recorded during any September in the station's period analysed from 1 November 1985 to 11 August 2004, according to official Met Office data. Anyone who lived through that early September weekend in West Yorkshire will remember an afternoon that felt more like high summer than late autumn.
The 5th of September 1999 delivered 28.2°C at Leeds Weather Centre, a figure that no subsequent September has matched — not in the remaining years of the 1990s, nor in the early 2000s through to the final months of the record. It is a benchmark that has held for over two decades, a reminder that exceptional warmth in early September is possible even in a city better known for its grey skies than its heatwaves.
To put that number in context: reaching 28.2°C in September means the air temperature climbed high enough to make a short-sleeved day feel completely natural, even as the nights were already drawing in. By early September, the sun's angle has dropped noticeably compared with June, so achieving such a temperature requires a very specific setup: a warm southerly air mass, clear skies, and strong midday heating. When those ingredients align, Leeds can briefly rival much warmer latitudes.
The table below shows the single highest September temperature recorded at this station during the period with data available. The value comes directly from the official Met Office MIDAS archive, held at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA).
| Maximum temperature (°C) | Date |
|---|---|
| 28.2 | 1999-09-05 |
For residents curious about whether this record is unique to their city, several stations in the region carry the Leeds name in their official designation. The ranking below shows the highest September maximum for stations matching this criterion, all using the same data source. Leeds Weather Centre tops the list with its 28.2°C record — the strongest September heat event in the area for the stations identified.
| Station | County / region | September maximum (°C) |
|---|---|---|
| leeds-weather-centre | west-yorkshire | 28.2 |
September is a transitional month in Leeds. The summer warmth that can push temperatures toward or beyond 30°C in July and August fades gradually, but the 5th of September 1999 shows that a late-season surge is always possible. Since that date, no September in the analysed period has come close enough to displace it. The full stretch of data runs from 1 November 1985 to 11 August 2004, so the record represents nearly two decades of Septembers — and it has not been beaten in any of them.
For anyone planning outdoor events in Leeds during early September — a wedding, a festival, an outdoor sports fixture — this record offers a useful upper bound. The typical September day in this city is far cooler, but the ceiling is real. When a warm anticyclone parks itself over the UK and drags in continental air, Leeds can briefly experience temperatures that would not look out of place in a Mediterranean coastal town.
All figures on this page come from the Met Office MIDAS archive, the UK national weather observation dataset maintained by the country's official meteorological service. The records used are from Leeds Weather Centre, covering the period 1985-2004. This is the same dataset used by climatologists and researchers studying weather extremes in the United Kingdom; it is quality-controlled and archived at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis under the Open Government Licence.
If you are looking at this page because you want to know how hot it can actually get in Leeds during September, the answer, for this station and period, is 28.2°C — reached on 5 September 1999.
Source: Met Office MIDAS data, Leeds Weather Centre station, period 1985-2004.
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