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Spring Weather in Orkney United Kingdom

Daily high temperatures increase by 10°F, from 44°F to 55°F, rarely falling below 39°F or exceeding 61°F.

Daily low temperatures increase by 8°F, from 37°F to 45°F, rarely falling below 31°F or exceeding 50°F.

For reference, on August 5, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Orkney typically range from 52°F to 61°F, while on February 17, the coldest day of the year, they range from 36°F to 43°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Spring in Orkney

Average High and Low Temperature in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay25°F25°F30°F30°F35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°FWinterSummerMar 144°FMar 144°F37°F37°FMay 3155°FMay 3155°F45°F45°FApr 147°FApr 147°F38°F38°FMay 151°FMay 151°F41°F41°F
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average spring temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in the Spring in Orkney

Average Hourly Temperature in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummervery coldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Metlakatla, Alaska, United States (4,061 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Orkney (view comparison).

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The spring in Orkney experiences rapidly decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 69% to 54%. The lowest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 54% on May 29.

The clearest day of the spring is May 29, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 46% of the time.

For reference, on February 3, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 70%, while on May 29, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 46%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Spring in Orkney

Cloud Cover Categories in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%WinterSummerFeb 330%Feb 330%Mar 131%Mar 131%May 3146%May 3146%Apr 136%Apr 136%May 142%May 142%clearmostly clearpartly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Orkney, the chance of a wet day over the course of the spring is very rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 42% and ending it at 25%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 49% on January 4, and its lowest chance is 24% on May 17.

Over the course of the spring in Orkney, the chance of a day with only rain decreases from 40% to 25%, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain remains an essentially constant 1% throughout, and the chance of a day with only snow remains an essentially constant 0% throughout.

Probability of Precipitation in the Spring in Orkney

Probability of Precipitation in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0%0%5%5%10%10%15%15%20%20%25%25%30%30%35%35%40%40%45%45%50%50%WinterSummerMay 1524%May 1524%Mar 142%Mar 142%May 3125%May 3125%Apr 132%Apr 132%May 127%May 127%rainmixed
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the spring in Orkney is decreasing, starting the season at 2.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 4.3 inches or falls below 1.2 inches, and ending the season at 1.7 inches, when it rarely exceeds 3.0 inches or falls below 0.6 inches.

The lowest average 31-day accumulation is 1.5 inches on May 11.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Spring in Orkney

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 inWinterSummerMay 101.5 inMay 101.5 inMar 12.5 inMar 12.5 inMay 311.7 inMay 311.7 inApr 11.9 inApr 11.9 in
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of the spring in Orkney, the length of the day is very rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day increases by 7 hours, 23 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 4 minutes, 52 seconds, and weekly increase of 34 minutes, 3 seconds.

The shortest day of the spring is March 1, with 10 hours, 35 minutes of daylight and the longest day is May 31, with 17 hours, 58 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Spring in Orkney

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrWinterSummerMar 2012 hr, 10 minMar 2012 hr, 10 minnightnightdaydayMay 115 hr, 52 minMay 115 hr, 52 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the spring in Orkney is 7:07 AM on March 1 and the earliest sunrise is 2 hours, 56 minutes earlier at 4:11 AM on May 31.

The earliest sunset is 5:42 PM on March 1 and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 27 minutes later at 10:09 PM on May 31.

Daylight saving time (DST) starts at 2:00 AM on March 31, 2024, shifting sunrise and sunset to be an hour later.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 3:58 AM and sets 18 hours, 30 minutes later, at 10:28 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 9:04 AM and sets 6 hours, 11 minutes later, at 3:15 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Spring in Orkney

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMWinterSummer4:11 AM4:11 AM10:09 PMMay 3110:09 PMMay 317:07 AM7:07 AM5:42 PMMar 15:42 PMMar 16:37 AM6:37 AM7:55 PMApr 17:55 PMApr 15:13 AM5:13 AM9:05 PMMay 19:05 PMMay 1Mar 31DSTMar 31DSTSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day in the spring. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Spring in Orkney

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummer00102030405001010203040
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth in the the spring of 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the spring of 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Spring in Orkney

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMWinterSummerFeb 911:00 PMFeb 911:00 PMFeb 2412:31 PMFeb 2412:31 PMMar 109:01 AMMar 109:01 AMMar 257:01 AMMar 257:01 AMApr 87:22 PMApr 87:22 PMApr 2412:50 AMApr 2412:50 AMMay 84:23 AMMay 84:23 AMMay 232:54 PMMay 232:54 PMJun 61:38 PMJun 61:38 PMJun 222:09 AMJun 222:09 AM8:44 AM8:44 AM3:43 PM3:43 PM7:57 AM7:57 AM7:05 AM7:05 AM6:24 PM6:24 PM5:45 PM5:45 PM6:11 AM6:11 AM6:18 AM6:18 AM8:09 PM8:09 PM8:35 PM8:35 PM5:25 AM5:25 AM10:52 PM10:52 PM11:39 PM11:39 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Orkney is essentially constant during the spring, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on July 13, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Spring in Orkney

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%WinterSummerMar 10%Mar 10%May 310%May 310%Apr 10%Apr 10%May 10%May 10%drydrycomfortablecomfortable
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Orkney is very rapidly decreasing during the spring, decreasing from 20.9 miles per hour to 13.9 miles per hour over the course of the season.

For reference, on January 24, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 22.5 miles per hour, while on July 12, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 12.9 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in the Spring in Orkney

Average Wind Speed in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0 mph0 mph5 mph5 mph10 mph10 mph15 mph15 mph20 mph20 mph25 mph25 mph30 mph30 mphWinterSummerMar 120.9 mphMar 120.9 mphMay 3113.9 mphMay 3113.9 mphApr 118.2 mphApr 118.2 mphMay 115.2 mphMay 115.2 mph
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction in Orkney during the spring is predominantly out of the west from March 1 to April 21, the south from April 21 to May 20, and the north from May 20 to May 31.

Wind Direction in the Spring in Orkney

Wind Direction in the Spring in OrkneyWSWSNWMarAprMay0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%WinterSummerwestsoutheastnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Orkney is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Orkney is increasing during the spring, rising by 4°F, from 45°F to 49°F, over the course of the season.

The lowest average surface water temperature during the spring is 45°F on March 11.

Average Water Temperature in the Spring in Orkney

Average Water Temperature in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay42°F42°F44°F44°F46°F46°F48°F48°F50°F50°F52°F52°F54°F54°FWinterSummerMar 1145°FMar 1145°FMay 3149°FMay 3149°FApr 145°FApr 145°FMay 146°FMay 146°F
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Orkney typically lasts for 8.0 months (245 days), from around April 5 to around December 7, rarely starting before February 28 or after May 4, and rarely ending before November 6 or after January 2.

The spring in Orkney is very likely fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season very rapidly increasing from 11% to 100% over the course of the season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Spring in Orkney

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Spring in Orkneygrowing seasonMarAprMay0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%WinterSummerMar 111%Mar 111%100%May 31100%May 31Apr 142%Apr 142%87%May 187%May 1very coldcoldcoolfreezing
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Orkney are gradually increasing during the spring, increasing by 44°F, from 1°F to 44°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Spring in Orkney

Growing Degree Days in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°FWinterSummerMar 11°FMar 11°FMay 3144°FMay 3144°FApr 13°FApr 13°FMay 111°FMay 111°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the spring, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Orkney is very rapidly increasing during the spring, rising by 4.3 kWh, from 1.4 kWh to 5.6 kWh, over the course of the season.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Spring in Orkney

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Spring in OrkneyMarAprMay0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhWinterSummerMar 11.4 kWhMar 11.4 kWhMay 315.6 kWhMay 315.6 kWhApr 12.8 kWhApr 12.8 kWhMay 14.5 kWhMay 14.5 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Orkney are 58.985 deg latitude, -2.960 deg longitude, and 7 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Orkney contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 420 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 88 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (869 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,572 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Orkney is covered by grassland (61%), water (25%), and artificial surfaces (11%), within 10 miles by water (54%) and grassland (29%), and within 50 miles by water (88%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Orkney, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Orkney.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Orkney according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Orkney is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Orkney and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Orkney and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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