The climate of the Orkney Islands (Scotland)
The Orkney Islands are also known as the Orcades. This is a large
archipelago off the Scottish north coast. This archipelago consists of
approximately 200 islands of which 10% is inhabited. The total
population in this archipelago is about 20.000. Most of the
inhabitants live in Kirkwall which is the capital of Mainland. The
Orkney Islands can either be reached by ferry or by plane. Kirkwall
airport has flights to several destinations in the UK. The rest of the
inhabited islands can be reached by ferry. On the island of North
Ronaldsay there is a type of sheep that is named after this island and
only feeds on seaweed.
The Orkney archipelago has a cool moderate sea climate. This climate
is remarkably mild and stable for this northerly degree of latitude.
This is caused by the influence of the Gulf Stream. The average
temperature over a year is 8 degrees Celsius. Between 850 to 940
millimeters of precipitation falls on average per year. This climate
is characterized by wind that blows virtually constantly during the
summer. During the winter strong winds are not uncommon. On the
longest day sun rises at 03:00h and sets at 21:29h; it will not become
completely dark during this day. On the Northern Islands this dusk is
known as dim suddern. Winter nights are very long. On the shortest day
sun rises at 09:05h and sets at 15:16h. At this time of year the
aurora borealis can be seen at the northern horizon.
Climate information
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate records.
They are an average for the Orkney Islands: Local deviations may occur
average maximum
temperature (°C)
average
minimum
temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine
per day
average days with
precipitation
per month
average
mm precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January
6
2
1
24
8
February
6
1
2
19
7
March
7
2
3
21
7
April
9
3
5
17
7
May
12
6
5
16
8
June
14
8
5
16
10
July
15
10
4
17
12
August
15
10
4
18
13
September
14
8
3
21
12
October
12
7
2
22
11
November
8
4
1
23
10
December
7
2
1
23
9
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm = 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we offer useful extra climate
information for each month of the year:
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
this site in Dutch
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
