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Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Kirkwall Airport United Kingdom

At Kirkwall Airport, the summers are short, cool, and windy; the winters are long, very cold, wet, and extremely windy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 36°F to 60°F and is rarely below 31°F or above 66°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Kirkwall Airport for warm-weather activities is from early July to late August.

Climate at Kirkwall Airport

very coldcoldcoolcoldJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow46%46%30%30%overcastclearprecipitation: 3.4 inprecipitation: 3.4 in1.4 in1.4 inmuggy: 0%muggy: 0%0%0%drydrytourism score: 4.4tourism score: 4.40.00.0
Kirkwall Airport weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The warm season lasts for 2.8 months, from June 20 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 57°F. The hottest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is August, with an average high of 60°F and low of 51°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.2 months, from November 22 to March 30, with an average daily high temperature below 47°F. The coldest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is February, with an average low of 36°F and high of 43°F.

Average High and Low Temperature at Kirkwall Airport

Average High and Low Temperature at Kirkwall AirportwarmcoolcoolJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FFeb 1743°FFeb 1743°FAug 560°FAug 560°F36°F36°F52°F52°FJun 2057°FJun 2057°FSep 1457°FSep 1457°FNov 2247°FNov 2247°FMar 3047°FMar 3047°F48°F48°F49°F49°F40°F40°F38°F38°FNowNow
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.
AverageJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
High 43°F43°F45°F48°F53°F56°F60°F60°F57°F52°F47°F44°F
Temp. 40°F40°F41°F44°F48°F52°F55°F55°F53°F49°F44°F41°F
Low 37°F36°F37°F39°F43°F47°F51°F51°F48°F45°F41°F38°F

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

Average Hourly Temperature at Kirkwall Airport

Average Hourly Temperature at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AMNowNowvery coldvery 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 (4,064 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Kirkwall Airport (view comparison).

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At Kirkwall Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Kirkwall Airport begins around April 12 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around October 7.

The clearest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is May, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 45% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 7 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around April 12.

The cloudiest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 69% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories at Kirkwall Airport

Cloud Cover Categories at Kirkwall AirportclearercloudiercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%May 2946%May 2946%Feb 230%Feb 230%Apr 1238%Apr 1238%Oct 738%Oct 738%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly 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.
FractionJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cloudier 69%69%67%61%55%56%57%58%60%63%67%68%
Clearer 31%31%33%39%45%44%43%42%40%37%33%32%

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Kirkwall Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.5 months, from September 5 to March 22, with a greater than 36% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Kirkwall Airport is January, with an average of 14.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.5 months, from March 22 to September 5. The month with the fewest wet days at Kirkwall Airport is May, with an average of 7.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Kirkwall Airport is January, with an average of 14.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 47% on November 2.

Daily Chance of Precipitation at Kirkwall Airport

Daily Chance of Precipitation at Kirkwall AirportwetwetdryJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Jan 749%Jan 749%May 1523%May 1523%Sep 536%Sep 536%Mar 2236%Mar 2236%NowNowrain
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).
Days ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rain 14.2d11.8d11.4d8.5d7.6d8.1d9.0d10.0d11.6d13.9d13.7d13.8d
Mixed 0.4d0.3d0.3d0.1d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.1d0.4d
Any 14.7d12.2d11.8d8.6d7.6d8.1d9.0d10.0d11.6d13.9d13.8d14.3d

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Kirkwall Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Kirkwall Airport. The month with the most rain at Kirkwall Airport is October, with an average rainfall of 3.3 inches.

The month with the least rain at Kirkwall Airport is May, with an average rainfall of 1.5 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall at Kirkwall Airport

Average Monthly Rainfall at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 in5 in5 in6 in6 inOct 263.4 inOct 263.4 inMay 111.4 inMay 111.4 inDec 303.1 inDec 303.1 inNowNow
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.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rainfall 3.0″2.6″2.3″1.6″1.5″1.8″1.8″2.2″2.8″3.3″3.3″3.0″

The length of the day at Kirkwall Airport varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 6 hours, 11 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 18 hours, 30 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight at Kirkwall Airport

Hours of Daylight and Twilight at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hr12 hr, 10 minMar 2012 hr, 10 minMar 2018 hr, 30 minJun 2018 hr, 30 minJun 2012 hr, 13 minSep 2212 hr, 13 minSep 226 hr, 11 minDec 216 hr, 11 minDec 21nightnightdayNowNow
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.
Hours ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight 7.1h9.3h11.9h14.5h17.0h18.4h17.6h15.4h12.8h10.2h7.7h6.3h

The earliest sunrise is at 3:58 AM on June 18, and the latest sunrise is 5 hours, 7 minutes later at 9:05 AM on December 27. The earliest sunset is at 3:14 PM on December 15, and the latest sunset is 7 hours, 14 minutes later at 10:28 PM on June 22.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Kirkwall Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 31, lasting 6.9 months, and ending in the fall on October 27.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time at Kirkwall Airport

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMJun 183:58 AMJun 183:58 AM10:28 PMJun 2210:28 PMJun 22Dec 153:14 PMDec 153:14 PM9:05 AMDec 279:05 AMDec 27Mar 31DSTMar 31DSTDSTOct 27DSTOct 27daynightnightnightnightSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of the year 2024. 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 at Kirkwall Airport

Solar Elevation and Azimuth at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AM0000101010202030304040500001010101020203030404050854NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of the year 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 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.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases at Kirkwall Airport

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 perceived humidity level at Kirkwall Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels at Kirkwall Airport

Humidity Comfort Levels at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Dec 310%Dec 310%Jul 10%Jul 10%NowNowcomfortablecomfortabledrydry
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.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Muggy days 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d

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 at Kirkwall Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from September 20 to April 6, with average wind speeds of more than 17.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 22.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.5 months, from April 6 to September 20. The calmest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.0 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed at Kirkwall Airport

Average Wind Speed at Kirkwall AirportwindywindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph5 mph5 mph10 mph10 mph15 mph15 mph20 mph20 mph25 mph25 mph30 mph30 mph35 mph35 mphJan 2422.5 mphJan 2422.5 mphJul 1212.9 mphJul 1212.9 mphSep 2017.7 mphSep 2017.7 mphApr 617.7 mphApr 617.7 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wind Speed (mph) 22.221.119.816.714.413.413.014.117.119.620.721.3

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Kirkwall Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 1.7 weeks, from January 1 to January 13; for 6.0 days, from February 21 to February 27; for 1.0 months, from April 20 to May 20; and for 1.3 months, from September 26 to November 6, with a peak percentage of 38% on January 10. The wind is most often from the west for 1.3 months, from January 13 to February 21; for 1.8 months, from February 27 to April 20; for 3.6 months, from June 9 to September 26; and for 1.8 months, from November 6 to December 31, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 23. The wind is most often from the north for 2.9 weeks, from May 20 to June 9, with a peak percentage of 29% on June 8.

Wind Direction at Kirkwall Airport

Wind Direction at Kirkwall AirportSWWSNWSWJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNowwestsouthnortheast
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).

Kirkwall Airport 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 water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.2 months, from July 11 to October 16, with an average temperature above 53°F. The month of the year at Kirkwall Airport with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 55°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.0 months, from January 8 to May 7, with an average temperature below 47°F. The month of the year at Kirkwall Airport with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 45°F.

Average Water Temperature at Kirkwall Airport

Average Water Temperature at Kirkwall AirportwarmcoolJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec42°F42°F44°F44°F46°F46°F48°F48°F50°F50°F52°F52°F54°F54°F56°F56°F58°F58°FAug 2155°FAug 2155°F45°FMar 845°FMar 8Jul 1153°FJul 1153°FOct 1653°FOct 1653°FJan 847°FJan 847°FMay 747°FMay 747°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
WaterJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Temperature 46°F45°F45°F45°F47°F50°F53°F55°F54°F53°F50°F48°F

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Kirkwall Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kirkwall Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Tourism Score at Kirkwall Airport

Tourism Score at Kirkwall Airportbest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810104.44.40.00.0NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationtourism score
The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kirkwall Airport for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Beach/Pool Score at Kirkwall Airport

Beach/Pool Score at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810100.10.10.00.0NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitation
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

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 at Kirkwall Airport typically lasts for 7.9 months (240 days), from around April 7 to around December 3, rarely starting before March 5 or after May 4, and rarely ending before November 4 or after December 31.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season at Kirkwall Airport

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season at Kirkwall Airportgrowing seasonJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%50%Apr 750%Apr 750%Dec 350%Dec 390%May 490%May 490%Nov 490%Nov 410%Mar 510%Mar 510%Dec 3110%Dec 313%Jan 153%Jan 15Aug 2100%Aug 2100%NowNowvery 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 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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Kirkwall Airport should appear around June 20, only rarely appearing before June 4 or after July 5.

Growing Degree Days at Kirkwall Airport

Growing Degree Days at Kirkwall AirportJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F100°F100°F200°F200°F300°F300°F400°F400°F500°F500°F600°F600°F700°F700°F800°F800°F900°F900°FJun 2090°FJun 2090°FDec 31614°FDec 31614°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, 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 experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from May 3 to August 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is June, with an average of 5.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from October 16 to February 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Kirkwall Airport is December, with an average of 0.2 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy at Kirkwall Airport

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy at Kirkwall AirportbrightdarkdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhJun 205.8 kWhJun 205.8 kWhDec 210.2 kWhDec 210.2 kWhMay 34.6 kWhMay 34.6 kWhAug 64.6 kWhAug 64.6 kWhOct 161.3 kWhOct 161.3 kWhFeb 281.3 kWhFeb 281.3 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Solar Energy (kWh) 0.30.92.03.65.25.75.34.22.71.30.50.2

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kirkwall Airport are 58.958 deg latitude, -2.905 deg longitude, and 36 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kirkwall Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 322 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 115 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (869 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,575 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kirkwall Airport is covered by grassland (50%), water (20%), and herbaceous vegetation (12%), within 10 miles by water (63%) and grassland (24%), and within 50 miles by water (88%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Kirkwall Airport, 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

Kirkwall Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

In the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on records from nearby stations, adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal intra-station differences. For a given day of the year and hour of the day, the fallback station is selected to minimize the prediction error over the years for which there are measurements for both stations.

The stations on which we may fall back are Wick Airport, Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Tain Range, Inverness Dalcross Airport, Sumburgh Airport, and Aberdeen International Airport.

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.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.