Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Scarborough United Kingdom

In Scarborough, the summers are short and cool, the winters are long and very cold, and it is windy and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 38°F to 67°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 73°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 2.7 months, from June 23 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Scarborough is August, with an average high of 66°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.3 months, from November 20 to March 30, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest month of the year in Scarborough is February, with an average low of 38°F and high of 45°F.

In Scarborough, 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 Scarborough begins around April 23 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around October 2.

The clearest month of the year in Scarborough 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 2 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around April 23.

The cloudiest month of the year in Scarborough is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% 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 Scarborough varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.0 months, from October 2 to February 3, with a greater than 27% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Scarborough is November, with an average of 9.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.0 months, from February 3 to October 2. The month with the fewest wet days in Scarborough is April, with an average of 6.6 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 in Scarborough is November, with an average of 9.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 34% on December 31.

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. Scarborough experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Scarborough. The month with the most rain in Scarborough is October, with an average rainfall of 2.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Scarborough is April, with an average rainfall of 1.4 inches.

The length of the day in Scarborough varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 7 hours, 19 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:26 AM on June 17, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 56 minutes later at 8:22 AM on December 29. The earliest sunset is at 3:37 PM on December 13, and the latest sunset is 6 hours, 3 minutes later at 9:40 PM on June 24.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.7 months, from October 4 to March 27, with average wind speeds of more than 14.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Scarborough is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 17.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.3 months, from March 27 to October 4. The calmest month of the year in Scarborough is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.8 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 1.4 weeks, from April 20 to April 30 and for 3.1 weeks, from May 7 to May 29, with a peak percentage of 28% on May 11. The wind is most often from the south for 1.0 weeks, from April 30 to May 7 and for 1.1 months, from September 30 to November 3, with a peak percentage of 36% on November 2. The wind is most often from the west for 4.0 months, from May 29 to September 30 and for 5.6 months, from November 3 to April 20, with a peak percentage of 41% on August 21.

Scarborough 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 2.7 months, from July 3 to September 24, with an average temperature above 56°F. The month of the year in Scarborough with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 59°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.0 months, from December 29 to April 29, with an average temperature below 46°F. The month of the year in Scarborough with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 43°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Scarborough 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 Scarborough for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July 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 Scarborough for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

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 Scarborough typically lasts for 9.0 months (277 days), from around March 9 to around December 10, rarely starting before February 2 or after April 6, and rarely ending before November 16 or after January 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 Scarborough should appear around May 21, only rarely appearing before May 8 or after June 7.

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 3.6 months, from April 28 to August 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Scarborough is June, with an average of 6.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from October 22 to February 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Scarborough is December, with an average of 0.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Scarborough are 54.280 deg latitude, -0.404 deg longitude, and 157 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Scarborough contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 571 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 146 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (873 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,516 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Scarborough is covered by artificial surfaces (43%) and water (38%), within 10 miles by water (43%) and cropland (32%), and within 50 miles by water (56%) and cropland (29%).