Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Dartmoor National Park United Kingdom

In Dartmoor National Park, the summers are cool; the winters are long, very cold, and wet; and it is windy and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 67°F and is rarely below 28°F or above 74°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Dartmoor National Park for warm-weather activities is from late June to late August.

The warm season lasts for 3.1 months, from June 14 to September 16, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is July, with an average high of 66°F and low of 53°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from November 19 to March 22, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is February, with an average low of 37°F and high of 46°F.

In Dartmoor National Park, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Dartmoor National Park begins around March 31 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around October 13.

The clearest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 13 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around March 31.

The cloudiest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 65% of the time.

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

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from October 2 to February 22, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Dartmoor National Park is January, with an average of 13.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.4 months, from February 22 to October 2. The month with the fewest wet days in Dartmoor National Park is July, with an average of 7.5 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 in Dartmoor National Park is November, with an average of 12.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 44% on January 6.

Rainfall

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. Dartmoor National Park experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Dartmoor National Park. The month with the most rain in Dartmoor National Park is December, with an average rainfall of 3.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Dartmoor National Park is July, with an average rainfall of 1.9 inches.

The length of the day in Dartmoor National Park varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 7 hours, 59 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 28 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:02 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 14 minutes later at 8:16 AM on December 30. The earliest sunset is at 4:11 PM on December 12, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 21 minutes later at 9:32 PM on June 25.

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

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.

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 in Dartmoor National Park, 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.

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 Dartmoor National Park experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from October 10 to March 28, with average wind speeds of more than 13.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 16.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.4 months, from March 28 to October 10. The calmest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Dartmoor National Park varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 1.6 weeks, from April 20 to May 1, with a peak percentage of 27% on April 27. The wind is most often from the west for 12 months, from May 1 to April 20, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

Dartmoor National Park 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 3.3 months, from July 2 to October 10, with an average temperature above 59°F. The month of the year in Dartmoor National Park with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 62°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from January 3 to April 29, with an average temperature below 51°F. The month of the year in Dartmoor National Park with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 48°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dartmoor National Park 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 Dartmoor National Park for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

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 Dartmoor National Park for hot-weather activities is from mid July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

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 in Dartmoor National Park typically lasts for 7.1 months (217 days), from around April 8 to around November 11, rarely starting before March 9 or after April 30, and rarely ending before October 15 or after December 4.

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 in Dartmoor National Park should appear around May 16, only rarely appearing before May 4 or after June 3.

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 3.3 months, from May 3 to August 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is June, with an average of 6.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 24 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Dartmoor National Park is December, with an average of 0.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Dartmoor National Park are 50.572 deg latitude, -3.921 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Dartmoor National Park is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 0 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 0 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Dartmoor National Park is covered by grassland (65%), trees (19%), and shrubs (16%), within 10 miles by grassland (57%) and shrubs (21%), and within 50 miles by water (49%) and grassland (25%).