Scotland’s weather: Flaming June? It was more like February

By Rosemary Free
Published on 02/07/2012 00:00

IT BOASTS the longest day of the year and is supposed to be one of the main summer months.

But June was one of the dullest, wettest and coldest on record, as figures released yesterday showed rainfall, temperatures and sunshine more in keeping with February.

Rainfall was well above, and temperatures below, the average for the past 30 years.

Overall, Scotland had 104mm of rain – 171 per cent more than normal for the month – while the sun shone for just 123 hours, 25 per cent less than usual.

Worst hit were the Central Belt and eastern side of Scotland, which saw more than double the normal rainfall. The north-west fared slightly better, with 139 per cent more rain.

Temperatures in the south were also colder at 2.2C below average, while in the north-west they were 1.5 C below average.

Eskdalemuir in Dumfriesshire was one of the greyest towns in Scotland last month, with just 57 hours of sunshine.

It was also one of the wettest places with more than 246mm of rain falling in June.

Those looking for summer relief would have been better off on Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, which enjoyed 167 hours of sun, or on Lewis, which experienced a minimal 34mm of rain.

While the weather in Scotland was bleak, England and Wales were harder hit, with an average rainfall of 157mm – 231 per cent more than the average in the period 1981-2010 – putting it on a par with readings from 1860.

It was the dullest June since 1909, with the two countries having the same amount of sunshine as Scotland over the month.

A spokesman for MeteoGroup said: “It was pretty cool, cloudy and damp weather.”

He blamed the poor conditions on a broad band of low pressure that has been sitting across the UK, pushing the jet stream further south than usual and keeping high pressure and settled weather away from the UK.