Musselburgh in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Musselburgh sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 223 mm of precipitation over about 41 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 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Musselburgh's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Musselburgh's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Precipitation
- 223 mm
- 41 wet days
- Avg wind
- 21 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.6
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Musselburgh in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Musselburgh reaches about 6°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Musselburgh
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.
Musselburgh 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 | 6° / 3° | 78 | 14.8 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 6° / 3° | 63 | 12 | 2.2 | 9.2 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 8° / 4° | 61 | 13 | 1.6 | 11.4 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 10° / 5° | 54 | 11.1 | 0.6 | 13.8 | 2.0 |
| May | 12° / 7° | 58 | 12.5 | 0 | 16 | 3.0 |
| Jun | 15° / 10° | 71 | 13.2 | 0 | 17.2 | 4.0 |
| Jul | 17° / 12° | 77 | 13.9 | 0 | 16.7 | 4.7 |
| Aug | 17° / 12° | 82 | 14 | 0 | 14.8 | 4.7 |
| Sep | 15° / 10° | 67 | 12 | 0 | 12.5 | 4.1 |
| Oct | 12° / 8° | 89 | 13.9 | 0 | 10.1 | 2.8 |
| Nov | 9° / 5° | 80 | 14.1 | 0.4 | 8 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 7° / 3° | 82 | 14.3 | 1.8 | 6.8 | 0.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Musselburgh gets around 223 mm of rain and snow over 41 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 21 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 12 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 Musselburgh?
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 Musselburgh.
What to pack for Musselburgh in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Musselburgh sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 41 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Musselburgh 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 at the nearest coast (about 21 km away) 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 Musselburgh 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 Musselburgh 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 Musselburgh?
Musselburgh sits at 55.9°N, 3.0°W, 9 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Bonnyrigg, 8.0 km away.
Topography around Musselburgh
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Musselburgh.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Musselburgh has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 m around an average of 18 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 483 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 852 m.
The land around Musselburgh is covered by water (32%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, water (34%), cropland (21%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%) 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 Musselburgh (55.9417°, -3.0499°, elevation 9 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.