Climate - Stornoway (Scotland)

The climate of Stornoway is oceanic, with cold, rainy winters and cool, cloudy summers. The wind often blows, and can sometimes be stormy, especially in the colder half of the year.
The city is located in the north of the Isle of Lewis and Harris, which is part of the Outer Hebrides, located to the north-west of Scotland.
The average temperature of the coldest month (February) is of 4.7 °C (40 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 13.5 °C (56 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 1,250 millimeters (49.2 inches) per year: it is therefore quite abundant. It ranges from 60 mm (2.4 in) in the driest month (June) to 150 mm (5.9 in) in the wettest (January). Here is the average precipitation.

Winter is long and runs from mid-November to mid-April, and it is cold but not freezing: the average temperature is a few degrees above freezing (0 °C or 32 °F). Wind and humidity, however, together with the lack of sunshine, exacerbate the sensation of cold.
Owing to the latitude, the days are very short from November to January. On December 21, the shortest day of the year, the sun rises at 9:11 am and sets at 3:35 pm.
Snowfalls are quite frequent, though not abundant. Cold winds of polar origin blow quite often, but owing to the presence of the sea, the temperature does not drop by much, so there can be light frosts, but it rarely drops below -5/-6 °C (21/23 °F). Furthermore, even during cold periods, the maximum temperature almost always exceeds freezing. The lowest record is -10 °C (14 °F), registered in January 1945. In December 2010, the temperature dropped to -8 °C (17.5 °F).
On the other hand, in periods when the mild westerlies blow, the temperature remains a few degrees above freezing, and can even reach 10/12 °C (50/54 °F), however, in these situations, the sky remains cloudy, and wind and rain are frequent. Intense Atlantic depressions, which often occur in this area, can bring gale-force winds, and cause sea storms.

The short spring, from mid-April to late May, is cold: the temperature remains low, and wintery periods are still possible, with snow showers, even in the first half of May. However, the days are long, the wind slows down a bit, and every so often, you can see the sun.

Summer, from June to August, is very cool, humid and rainy, and sometimes windy. Sometimes fog can form.
On the warmest days of the year, the temperature typically rises to 23/24 °C (73/75 °F), although it can sometimes reach 25 °C (77 °F).
On the other hand, the days are very long. On June 21, the longest day of the year, the sun rises at 4:20 am and sets at 10:34 pm. Since we are at a high latitude (at the 58h parallel), the white nights occur from May 19 to July 24, in which it is not completely dark even at midnight.
In addition, summer is the least windy season, even though some days with strong wind are still possible.

Autumn, from September to mid-November, is cloudy, rainy and windy, and it gets progressively colder.



On average, there are around 1,220 sunshine hours per year; so, the sun is rarely seen. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The sea, which for the latitude is not very cold in winter, remains cold in summer: at most, the water temperature reaches 13 °C (55 °F) from July to September. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit Stornoway is the summer, from June to August, since it is the mildest season. However, there are often cloudy skies, wind, rain and a bit of cold at night.