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

In Cairngorms National Park, the summers are cool; the winters are long, very cold, snowy, and windy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 28°F to 62°F and is rarely below 18°F or above 70°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Cairngorms National Park for warm-weather activities is from early July to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 10 to September 10, with an average daily high temperature above 57°F. The hottest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is July, with an average high of 62°F and low of 48°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 16 to March 13, with an average daily high temperature below 42°F. The coldest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is January, with an average low of 29°F and high of 38°F.

In Cairngorms National Park, 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 in Cairngorms National Park begins around April 14 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around September 28.

The clearest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 28 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around April 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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 Cairngorms National Park varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.5 months, from June 6 to January 22, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Cairngorms National Park is July, with an average of 11.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.5 months, from January 22 to June 6. The month with the fewest wet days in Cairngorms National Park is February, with an average of 8.7 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 Cairngorms National Park is July, with an average of 11.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 40% on August 5.

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

Rain falls throughout the year in Cairngorms National Park. The month with the most rain in Cairngorms National Park is October, with an average rainfall of 3.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Cairngorms National Park is February, with an average rainfall of 1.4 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cairngorms National Park experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from November 7 to April 12, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Cairngorms National Park is January, with an average snowfall of 4.9 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from April 12 to November 7. The least snow falls around July 29, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Cairngorms National Park varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 6 hours, 42 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17 hours, 54 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:18 AM on June 17, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 35 minutes later at 8:53 AM on December 27. The earliest sunset is at 3:31 PM on December 14, and the latest sunset is 6 hours, 42 minutes later at 10:13 PM on June 23.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Cairngorms 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 Cairngorms 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 Cairngorms National Park experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.9 months, from October 8 to April 5, with average wind speeds of more than 12.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 14.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.1 months, from April 5 to October 8. The calmest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.3 months, from April 20 to May 30 and for 2.6 weeks, from September 29 to October 17, with a peak percentage of 37% on October 11. The wind is most often from the north for 1.0 weeks, from May 30 to June 6, with a peak percentage of 29% on June 3. The wind is most often from the west for 3.8 months, from June 6 to September 29 and for 6.1 months, from October 17 to April 20, with a peak percentage of 38% on August 25.

Cairngorms 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 3.4 months, from June 28 to October 9, with an average temperature above 54°F. The month of the year in Cairngorms National Park with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 56°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from January 3 to April 26, with an average temperature below 45°F. The month of the year in Cairngorms National Park with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 43°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cairngorms 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 Cairngorms National Park for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to mid 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 Cairngorms National Park for hot-weather activities is from mid July to early August, with a peak score in the third 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 Cairngorms National Park typically lasts for 4.5 months (135 days), from around May 19 to around October 1, rarely starting before April 30 or after June 9, and rarely ending before September 6 or after October 26.

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 Cairngorms National Park should appear around June 9, only rarely appearing before May 28 or after June 22.

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 3.5 months, from April 29 to August 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is June, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from October 18 to February 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Cairngorms National Park is December, with an average of 0.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cairngorms National Park are 57.044 deg latitude, -3.603 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cairngorms 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 Cairngorms National Park is covered by sparse vegetation (65%), shrubs (18%), and trees (12%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (60%) and shrubs (25%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (24%) and grassland (22%).