Fort William weather in February

In February, Fort William sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near 0°C, with 181 mm of precipitation across 17.5 wet days and about 9.1 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 5°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 06 min at the start of February to 10 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Fort William's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort William's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
181 mm
17.5 wet days
Daylight
9 h 06 min
8:03 AM – 5:08 PM
Cloud cover
84%
9th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.04 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Fort William is town in Highland, Scotland, UK.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 5°C through the month.

A typical February day in Fort William reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to 0°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs on par with January and about 2°C cooler than March.

-5°10°151015202528
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
140
240
340
440
540
640
740
850
950
1050
1150
1250
1350
1450
1550
1650
1750
1850
1950
2050
2150
2250
2350
2450
2550
2650
2750
2850

How February really feels in Fort William

Once humidity and wind are folded in, February averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 28 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
28
wind chill below the day's low

The story in February is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fort William weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 22419.510.87.20.0
Feb / 18117.59.89.10.0
Mar / 16617.97.611.40.6
Apr10° / 11316.42.813.91.7
May13° / 12216.90.416.12.8
Jun15° / 11817.4017.43.4
Jul16° / 10°12919.4016.93.7
Aug16° / 10°14519.5014.93.7
Sep14° / 15117012.53.1
Oct10° / 18618.90.5101.8
Nov / 17518.73.27.80.7
Dec / 20518.486.60.0

Cloud cover in February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 87%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11090
21090
31090
41189
51189
61189
71288
81288
91288
101288
111288
121387
131486
141486
151486
161486
171486
181585
191684
201684
211684
221585
231684
241684
251684
261684
271585
281585

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitationSnow

Fort William gets around 181 mm of rain and snow over 17.5 wet days in February. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 61% and peaks near 62% on the wettest days, and about 10 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202528
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
16135
26136
36136
46136
56136
66136
76136
86136
96135
106135
116135
126135
136034
146034
156034
166033
176133
186133
196133
206133
216134
226134
236134
246134
256134
266234
276234
286234

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of February feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, February lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100

Wind in February

Winds average 12 km/h in February, the windiest month of the year.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202528
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112light breeze
212light breeze
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312light breeze
1412light breeze
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412light breeze
2512light breeze
2612light breeze
2712light breeze
2812light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 06 min at the start of February to 10 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 120 minutes over February. Sunrise moves from 8:32 AM to 7:31 AM, and sunset from 4:36 PM to 5:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202528
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.18:324:36
28.18:304:38
38.28:284:40
48.38:264:43
58.38:244:45
68.48:224:47
78.58:204:49
88.68:184:52
98.68:164:54
108.78:144:56
118.88:124:58
128.98:095:01
138.98:075:03
149.08:055:05
159.18:035:08
169.28:005:10
179.27:585:12
189.37:565:14
199.47:535:17
209.57:515:19
219.57:485:21
229.67:465:23
239.77:435:26
249.87:415:28
259.97:385:30
269.97:365:32
2710.07:335:35
2810.17:315:37

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 1.04 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.29 kWh/m² to a high of 4.43 kWh/m² in May across the year — February's 1.04 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

00.511.52151015202528
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.8Dim
60.8Dim
70.8Dim
80.8Dim
90.9Dim
100.9Dim
110.9Dim
120.9Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
151.0Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.2Dim
201.2Dim
211.2Dim
221.3Dim
231.3Dim
241.4Dim
251.4Dim
261.4Dim
271.4Dim
281.5Dim
Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Fort William?

Our two travel scores rate February for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

February is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort William.

What to pack for Fort William in February

From February's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In February, Fort William sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near 0°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 18 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Fort William in February

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in February — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 47 km away) is warmest in August at about 14°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

6°8°10°12°14°16°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul13Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep14Bracing
Oct13Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Fort William in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort William peaks around July 11 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 11UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Fort William?

Fort William sits at 56.8°N, 5.1°W, 24 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Inverness, 91 km away.

InvernessGreenockVale of LevenDumbartonStirlingErskineClydebankBearsden

Topography around Fort William

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Fort William.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort William has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 521 m around an average of 97 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,341 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m.

The land around Fort William is covered by grassland (48%), trees (23%) and water (21%) within 3 km, grassland (69%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) within 80 km.

3 km
521 m
16 km
1,341 m
80 km
1,339 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
February weather nearby: Inverness 91 km · Greenock 99 km · Vale of Leven 100 km · Dumbarton 103 km · Stirling 106 km · Erskine 110 km · Clydebank 111 km · Bearsden 111 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fort William (56.8165°, -5.1121°, elevation 24 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).