Climate and average weather in Kilmarnock

In Kilmarnock, the summers are mild, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cold, breezy, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kilmarnock typically varies from 3°C to 16°C, and is rarely below -1°C or above 20°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kilmarnock for warm-weather activities is from late May to late September.

Hottest
Jul
16°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Dec
158 mm
Driest
May
77 mm
Rain / yr
1379 mm
199 wet days
Daylight
6.8–17.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
39 m
55.6°N
Clearest
May
67% cloud

Kilmarnock is town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, UK.

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

Kilmarnock weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Kilmarnock, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from June 5 to September 20, with daily high temperatures above 14°C. The hottest month of the year in Kilmarnock is July, with an average high of 16°C and low of 12°C.

The cool season lasts 4.1 months, from November 21 to March 26, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Kilmarnock is January, with an average low of 3°C and high of 7°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

-5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan73
Feb73
Mar84
Apr105
May138
Jun1510
Jul1612
Aug1612
Sep1510
Oct128
Nov96
Dec74

How hot and cold Kilmarnock really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -2°C (around January 29), with roughly 110 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan67-13
Feb77-23
Mar8804
Apr101025
May131358
Jun1515910
Jul16161212
Aug16161212
Sep1515910
Oct121258
Nov9926
Dec77-14

Average hourly temperature in Kilmarnock

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 16°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Kilmarnock weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 15019.137.40.5
Feb / 12016.22.89.20.6
Mar / 10615.82.111.41.1
Apr10° / 7914.50.713.82.0
May13° / 77140.215.93.1
Jun15° / 10°8514.5017.13.8
Jul16° / 12°9616.7016.64.2
Aug16° / 12°11217.2014.84.2
Sep15° / 10°10515.9012.53.6
Oct12° / 143180.110.12.5
Nov / 14818.60.481.4
Dec / 1581826.90.7

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Kilmarnock gets about 1379 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from around Oct 17 to Mar 11, peaking in November at about 65% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around May 14.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 158 mm over about 18 wet days; May is the driest, with 77 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 3 · 65%May 14 · 45%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6219
Feb5716
Mar5216
Apr4715
May4614
Jun4915
Jul5417
Aug5517
Sep5316
Oct5818
Nov6219
Dec5918

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kilmarnock collects about 1379 mm of rain across 199 wet days — roughly 115 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 158 mm, while May is the driest at just 77 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec15012010679778596112105143148158
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan150193
Feb120163
Mar106162
Apr79151
May77140
Jun85150
Jul96170
Aug112170
Sep105160
Oct143180
Nov148190
Dec158182

Snow in Kilmarnock

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Kilmarnock averages about 11 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 23 to Apr 18 — about 4.8 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 13 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 43 cm of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonJan 16
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan313
Feb311
Mar28
Apr11
May01
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov02
Dec27

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Kilmarnock, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around April 8 and lasts for 2.2 months, ending around June 14. The clearest month is May, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 36% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 2 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around April 7. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 76% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 8 · 37%Oct 31 · 22%mostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2476
Feb2674
Mar2674
Apr3169
May3664
Jun2872
Jul2872
Aug2971
Sep2674
Oct2575
Nov2575
Dec2575

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 14, brings about 17 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 6 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 10 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan7.48:464:08
Feb9.27:565:09
Mar11.46:456:11
Apr13.85:237:14
May15.94:158:13
Jun17.13:428:54
Jul16.64:038:45
Aug14.84:587:47
Sep12.55:596:26
Oct10.17:005:06
Nov8.08:054:02
Dec6.98:503:38

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Kilmarnock averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 6 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 1.9 months, from around Apr 10 to Jun 7. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 6 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is October, down near 3 sunny days — about 42% fewer than the May peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 106 daysOct 263 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan3Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar4Gloomy
Apr4Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun3Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug3Gloomy
Sep3Gloomy
Oct3Gloomy
Nov3Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Kilmarnock, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 1% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May9910
Jun9370
Jul76221
Aug74241
Sep9190
Oct9910
Nov10000
Dec10000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Kilmarnock is typically light breeze, near 18 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Oct 9 to Apr 2. The windiest month is January, averaging about 22 km/h (breezy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 3 to Oct 8, with July the calmest month at about 15 km/h.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezywindyJan 11 · 23 km/hJul 18 · 15 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan22breezy
Feb21breezy
Mar20breezy
Apr17light breeze
May17light breeze
Jun16light breeze
Jul15light breeze
Aug16light breeze
Sep18light breeze
Oct19light breeze
Nov20breezy
Dec21breezy

Best time to visit Kilmarnock

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kilmarnock throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid September, Kilmarnock is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kilmarnock for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 21 · 4.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.5poor
Feb0.6poor
Mar1.1poor
Apr2.0poor
May3.1poor
Jun3.8fair
Jul4.2fair
Aug4.2fair
Sep3.6fair
Oct2.5poor
Nov1.4poor
Dec0.7poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Kilmarnock rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDectemperaturecloudsprecipitation

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Kilmarnock, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 16°C), the essentials are a warm layer and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near 7°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Kilmarnock sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 12°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 17 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Kilmarnock

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 15°C and coldest in February near 7°C.

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

5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun13Bracing
Jul15Bracing
Aug15Cool
Sep14Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index (midday) in Kilmarnock by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kilmarnock peaks around June 18 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 18UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Kilmarnock

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr00
May6.50
Jun70
Jul6.50
Aug5.50
Sep1.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Kilmarnock is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 6 to December 11 (281 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 690%Dec 1190%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan8917
Feb8728
Mar935
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov970
Dec8920

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Kilmarnock banks about 421 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

0200400600JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May12
Jun72
Jul127
Aug127
Sep74
Oct9
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Kilmarnock receives about 2.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.4 and 4.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 24 to Sep 15. The brightest month is May, averaging about 4.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.4 kWh/m² — roughly 92% less than the May peak.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightMay 304.8 kWhDec 230.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.5Dim
Feb1.2Dim
Mar2.2Moderate
Apr3.6Moderate
May4.8Bright
Jun4.7Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug3.6Moderate
Sep2.5Moderate
Oct1.4Dim
Nov0.7Dim
Dec0.4Dim

Where is Kilmarnock?

Kilmarnock sits at 55.6°N, 4.5°W, 39 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Irvine, 10 km away.

Topography around Kilmarnock

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kilmarnock has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 81 m around an average of 49 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 336 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 993 m.

The land around Kilmarnock is covered by grassland (43%) and artificial surfaces (31%) within 3 km, grassland (67%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%), trees (21%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
81 m
16 km
336 m
80 km
993 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Irvine 10 km · Kilwinning 14 km · Ayr 19 km · Newton Mearns 21 km · Barrhead 22 km · Johnstone 24 km · Paisley 25 km · East Kilbride 26 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 Kilmarnock (55.6117°, -4.4958°, elevation 39 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).