The climate

Climate

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

is temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 (Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfb), and tends to be very changeable, but rarely extreme. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

 from the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, and given its northerly latitude it is much warmer than areas on similar latitudes, for example Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

—where the sea freezes over in winter and icebergs are a common feature in spring and early summer, or Fort McMurray, Canada—where -35 °C is not uncommon during winter.

Rainfall

Rainfall totals vary widely across Scotland— the western highlands of Scotland are one of the wettest places in Europe with annual rainfall up to 4577 mm (180.2 in). Due to the mountainous topography of the western Highlands, this type of precipitation is orographic in nature, with the warm, wet air forced to rise on contact with the mountainous coast, where it consequently cools and condenses

Condensation

Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. When the transition happens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the change is called deposition....

, forming clouds. In comparison, much of eastern Scotland receives less than 870 mm (34.3 in) annually; lying in the rain shadow

Rain shadow

A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...

 of the western uplands. This effect is most pronounced along the coasts of Lothian, Fife, Angus and eastern Aberdeenshire, as well as around the city of Inverness

Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

. Inchkeith

Inchkeith

Inchkeith is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. It is part of the council area of Fife.Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for use as home for a lighthouse and for military purposes defending the Firth of Forth for attack...

 in the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

 receives only 550 mm (21.7 in) of precipitation each year, which is the similar to Rabat

Rabat

Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...

 in Morocco, and less than Sydney or Barcelona receive per year. Also, as a result of this the north-western coast has about 265 days with rain a year and this falls to the south east to a minimum of about 170 days along the coast to the east of high ground.
Snowfall is less common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Parts of the Highlands have an average of 36 to 105 snow days per year, while some western coastal areas have between 0 and 6 days with snow a year.

Sunshine

Scotland has a reputation for cloudiness and this is most notable during its relatively short winter days. The maximum amount of sunshine in a calendar month was 329 hours in Tiree

Tiree

-History:Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland....

 in May 1946 and again in May 1975 while the minimum, a mere 36 minutes, was recorded at Cape Wrath in the Highlands in January 1983. Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

 is the sunniest city in Scotland. On the longest day of the year

Solstice

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...

 there is no complete darkness over the northern isles of Scotland. Lerwick

Lerwick

Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...

, Shetland

Shetland Islands

Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...

, has about four hours more daylight at midsummer than London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, although this is reversed in midwinter. Annual average sunshine totals vary from as little as 711–1140 hours in the highlands and the north-west, up to 1471–1540 hours on the extreme eastern and south-western coasts. Average annual sunshine hours over the whole territory are 1160 (taking 1971 to 2000 as standard) meaning that the sun shines about 35% of the time.

Winds

Scotland lies in the path of eastward-moving Atlantic depressions and these bring wind and clouds regularly throughout the year.
In common with the rest of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, wind prevails from the south-west, bringing warm, wet air from the Atlantic. The windiest areas of Scotland are in the north and west; parts of the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland have over 30 days with gales per year. Vigorous Atlantic depressions—also known as European windstorm

European windstorm

A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic windstorm associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure that track across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe. They are most common in the winter months...

s—are a common feature in the autumn and winter in Scotland.