Glenrothes in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Glenrothes sees average daytime highs around 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 209 mm of precipitation over about 38 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Glenrothes's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Glenrothes's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 7°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 209 mm
- 38 wet days
- Avg wind
- 16 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.8
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Glenrothes in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C.
A typical winter day in Glenrothes reaches about 7°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Glenrothes
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Glenrothes weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7° / 2° | 76 | 13.6 | 2.2 | 7.3 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 7° / 2° | 59 | 11.1 | 2.1 | 9.1 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 9° / 3° | 59 | 12.1 | 1.4 | 11.4 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 12° / 5° | 55 | 11.3 | 0.5 | 13.8 | 2.8 |
| May | 14° / 7° | 59 | 12.2 | 0 | 16 | 3.9 |
| Jun | 17° / 10° | 65 | 12.7 | 0 | 17.3 | 4.8 |
| Jul | 19° / 12° | 73 | 13.4 | 0 | 16.8 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 18° / 12° | 75 | 12.9 | 0 | 14.9 | 5.4 |
| Sep | 16° / 10° | 59 | 11 | 0 | 12.5 | 4.8 |
| Oct | 13° / 7° | 84 | 12.8 | 0 | 10.1 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 9° / 4° | 74 | 13.7 | 0.4 | 7.9 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 7° / 2° | 74 | 12.9 | 1.8 | 6.7 | 0.8 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Glenrothes gets around 209 mm of rain and snow over 38 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 16 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 0.7 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Glenrothes?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Glenrothes.
What to pack for Glenrothes in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Glenrothes sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 38 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Glenrothes in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 7°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 14°C and coldest in February near 6°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Bracing |
| Feb | 6 | Bracing |
| Mar | 6 | Bracing |
| Apr | 7 | Bracing |
| May | 10 | Bracing |
| Jun | 12 | Bracing |
| Jul | 14 | Bracing |
| Aug | 14 | Bracing |
| Sep | 13 | Bracing |
| Oct | 12 | Bracing |
| Nov | 10 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index in Glenrothes in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Glenrothes peaks around June 20 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 0 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 2 | Moderate |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 5 | Moderate |
| Jun | 5 | High |
| Jul | 5 | High |
| Aug | 5 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Low |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Where is Glenrothes?
Glenrothes sits at 56.2°N, 3.2°W, 92 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Kirkcaldy, 9.0 km away.
Topography around Glenrothes
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Glenrothes.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Glenrothes has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 172 m around an average of 97 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 511 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,211 m.
The land around Glenrothes is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (28%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, grassland (30%), cropland (28%) and water (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (48%) and water (20%) within 80 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
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 Glenrothes (56.1951°, -3.1732°, elevation 92 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.