The weather in Scotland doesn't differ that much from other areas in the UK although Scotland is a bit more cloudy, somewhat wetter and the average temperatures are lower, especially in the (far) north.

The best of the sunshine is for Ayrshire and the south-west coast, Lothians, Angus and Fife, the least for the mountains in the Highland region. The peak in sunshine hours falls in May and June and the least sunshine is for December and January. Because of the high latitude the winterdays are very short but are compensated with long summerdays with only 5 hours of 'almost darkness'. Check out the Daylight Hours in Scotland table to find out about the amount of daylight in each month.

Rainfall is another key element of Scottish weather although it is not as bad as people sometimes tell you. Some areas receive about 3,000 mm per year (the western Highlands) and other areas only 800 mm per year (the east coast). Measurable rainfall occurs on over 250 days in the Highlands to 175 days per year in other parts.

To check for snowfall visit the Scotland Webcams page

The winds favourite direction is from the south-west and strong winds occur more often and are the strongest in the Western Isles and the north-west coast .

Weather Poetry (with a smile)

It rained and rained and rained and rained,
The average was well maintained;
And when our fields were simply bogs,
It started raining cats and dogs.
After a drought of half an hour,
There came a most refreshing shower;
And then the queerest thing of all,
A gentle rain began to fall.

Next day 'twas pretty fairly dry,
Save for a deluge from the sky.
This wetted people to the skin,
But after that the rain set in.
We wondered what's the next we'd get,
As sure as fate we got more wet.
But soon we'll have a change again,
And we shall have..... A drop of rain

Weather Forecast for Inverness