Day 224 - Sun in the land of "365 days of rain"

We have had remarkably glorious weather since we arrived in Scotland. So, I thought I'd tell you what you can expect in weather when you come to visit.

When we mentioned we were going to Scotland for a few weeks, a Scot warned me that it rains 365 day a year there. So far (touch wood), we haven't seen any signs of that where we are. Now, I have been to Scotland on about seven previous occasions, and yes, it has always rained. When I travelled here with my sister, we got great amusement when we discovered that Scottish weather is often described as bright. That means it's cloudy, but the clouds are fairly white. You have to give it to the Scots: that is looking at the weather with a "glass half full" perspective! The car we rented came with windshield wipers that went on automatically when it sensed rain. Since it rains off and on a lot, it can get a bit tedious stopping and starting the wipers, so that was a nice touch. Probably something invited by the Scots, since they did invent everything worth having. 

A recent weather map. Note that Ireland and Scotland have
clear skies.  That big band is usually over them, not the rest
of the UK. The world is officially upside down.

In reality, the best way to prepare for the weather is to prepare for all four seasons in one day. Scottish weather is best described as changeable. Phil and I packed everything from shorts to heavy wool sweaters...because you just never know. 

The western Highlands receive about 3,000 mm of precipitation per year, but the east coast only gets about 800 mm. The winds tend to come from the south west which means the Highlands get the brunt of them on most occasions. 

In northern Scotland, where we are located, the average temperatures in June ranges from a low of 9 degrees C to a high of 17. Since we've been here, the temperatures have the mid 20s every day. The "extreme" average high for June is 27 degrees...so I guess they are considering this a heat wave.

We still have the better part of a week left, and have been  tempted to toss those wool sweaters. But we're not about to do so just yet. In this part of the world, Mother Nature is Scottish and that means she probably has a wicked sense of humour.