The climate of theShetland Islands (Scotland)
The
Shetland Islands are an archipelago off the Scottish north east coast.
Its capital is Lerwick. On this archipelago approximately 22.000
people live of which 18.000 live in the capital on South Mainland. The
archipelago consists of approximately 100 islands of which 15 are
inhabited. The Shetland Islands can either be reached by ferry or by
airplane. Tingwall Airport has several daily flights across the UK.
Several ferries sail between the islands. The landscape is very rugged
and characterized by the absence of trees. Several bird colonies live
on the uninhabited islands together with seals and other sea mammals.
The Shetland Islands have a maritime sub arctic climate with long mild
winters and short cold summers. The climate is moderate because of the
influence of the warm sea water. During the winter months temperatures
will be 5 degrees on average. During the months of March and April
temperatures may rise over 10 degrees Celsius. Summers are relatively
cold with temperatures around 20 degrees on average. The warmest month
on record had an average temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius. With
about 200 rainy days per year precipitation figures are rather high.
At any given time during the year snow may fall. November and December
are the wettest months. During the summer fog is not uncommon. This is
caused by the cooling influence of the sea over southern currents. The
Shetland Islands get about 1065 hours of sunshine on a yearly basis.
Cloudy days are not uncommon. Sunny days are scarce.
Climate information
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate records.
They are an average for the Shetland 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
5
1
1
26
8
February
5
1
2
20
8
March
6
2
3
23
8
April
8
3
4
19
8
May
10
5
5
17
9
June
13
8
5
16
10
July
14
9
4
18
12
August
14
10
4
18
12
September
12
8
3
23
12
October
10
6
2
24
11
November
7
3
1
25
10
December
6
2
1
26
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
