Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Penzance United Kingdom

In Penzance, the summers are short, cool, and windy; the winters are long, cold, wet, and extremely windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 41°F to 64°F and is rarely below 33°F or above 70°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Penzance for warm-weather activities is from early July to early September.

The warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from June 22 to September 20, with an average daily high temperature above 61°F. The hottest month of the year in Penzance is August, with an average high of 64°F and low of 57°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.3 months, from November 29 to April 6, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in Penzance is February, with an average low of 42°F and high of 48°F.

In Penzance, 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 Penzance begins around March 27 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year in Penzance is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 27.

The cloudiest month of the year in Penzance is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 64% 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 Penzance varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from October 2 to February 24, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Penzance is November, with an average of 12.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from February 24 to October 2. The month with the fewest wet days in Penzance is July, with an average of 7.4 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 Penzance is November, with an average of 12.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 45% 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. Penzance experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Penzance. The month with the most rain in Penzance is December, with an average rainfall of 3.4 inches.

The month with the least rain in Penzance is July, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The length of the day in Penzance varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 3 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 24 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:11 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 10 minutes later at 8:21 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:19 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 17 minutes later at 9:36 PM on June 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Penzance 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 Penzance, 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 Penzance experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from October 12 to March 25, with average wind speeds of more than 17.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Penzance is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 20.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from March 25 to October 12. The calmest month of the year in Penzance is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Penzance varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 2.1 weeks, from April 16 to May 1, with a peak percentage of 28% on April 21. The wind is most often from the west for 12 months, from May 1 to April 16, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

Penzance 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 2.6 months, from July 3 to September 22, with an average temperature above 59°F. The month of the year in Penzance with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 62°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.1 months, from December 30 to May 2, with an average temperature below 52°F. The month of the year in Penzance with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 49°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Penzance 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 Penzance for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to early September, 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 Penzance 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 Penzance typically lasts for 11 months (330 days), from around February 7 to around January 2, rarely starting after March 19, or ending before December 6.

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 Penzance should appear around May 17, only rarely appearing before May 3 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 3.4 months, from May 1 to August 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Penzance is June, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 25 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Penzance is December, with an average of 0.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Penzance are 50.119 deg latitude, -5.537 deg longitude, and 108 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Penzance contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 449 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 136 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (827 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,181 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Penzance is covered by water (41%), cropland (30%), artificial surfaces (16%), and grassland (11%), within 10 miles by water (58%) and cropland (26%), and within 50 miles by water (89%).