Best time to visit St Andrews

Re-score for me — drag the dial — every chart on the page recolours live for your heat limit 27°C
I'm comfortable up to 27°C feels-like
22° heat-averse 30° heat-loving

Default 27 °C is the upper edge of the Holiday Climate Index "ideal comfort" band (Scott, Rutty, Amelung & Tang, 2016). Above this, most warm-tourism travellers report measurable discomfort.

Saved to this browser. Changes update the strips below.
Recent · 2020-2024
Interest Google Trends 2021-2025 searches, not arrivals (?)
Day · avg daily high (?)
Night · avg overnight low (?)
UV index · On a typical day around midday, UV is about this (?)
113444321
On the sunniest 1 in 10 days, UV reaches this — and even higher
463
PM2.5 air quality · on a typical day (?)
556565445554
On the worst 1 in 10 days, PM2.5 reaches this — and even higher
991491175778108
June 7/10 feels 14°C (+1°C vs 1991-2020) · HCI 67/100
Day 17° · Night 11° 68% humidity 22 km/h wind 11 rain days (124h) 258h sun
Thermal 6
Sky 8
Rain 7
Wind 10

Higher = better, including rain & wind (green = "doesn't hurt the score", not "lots of it").

How is this scored? HCI / Steadman / CCI gate — full methodology and citations below.

Compare with another destination

Add as many as you like — stacked below the main strips above. Each row is just the recent-window score strip and (for beach destinations) sea-temperature strip.

Similar climatesEdinburgh95% · York94% · Dublin93%

Other destinations with the most-alike year-round climate to St Andrews (apparent temperature, rain hours, sunshine — matched within the same trip-profile). The ±N chip compares each match's typical score for the current month against St Andrews's. Based on the 2020-2024 climatology, not this year's actual weather.

Month-by-month

Month Temp °C Feels °C Rain days Rain h Rain h/day Humidity Wind km/h Sun h UV Interest Score
Jan 2–7 2 12 127 10.6 82% 28 88 — Quiet 4
Feb 3–8 3 14 170 12.1 76% 31 108 1 Quiet 4
Mar 3–9 5 15 165 11.0 73% 26 165 1 Quiet 4
Apr 4–10 7 10 124 12.4 68% 23 213 3 Quiet 5
May 8–14 11 13 153 11.8 72% 22 239 4 Moderate 6
Jun 11–17 14 11 124 11.3 68% 22 258 4 Moderate 7
Jul 12–18 17 15 171 11.4 69% 21 249 4 Peak 6
Aug 12–18 16 11 149 13.5 69% 22 237 3 Peak 7
Sep 11–16 14 12 124 10.3 72% 23 178 2 Busy 7
Oct 8–13 10 17 202 11.9 77% 27 120 1 Moderate 4
Nov 5–10 6 12 121 10.1 82% 25 92 — Peak 4
Dec 3–7 3 17 185 10.9 84% 27 59 — Quiet 3

UV Index in St Andrews by Month

UV index in St Andrews peaks at 4 (moderate) in June, dropping to 0 (low) in January.

Best months in detail

June

7/10

11–17°C (feels 14°C) · 11 rain days (124h) · 258 sun hours · 68% humidity · Moderate crowd · UV 4 (moderate) · sunniest 1 in 10 days reach 6 (moderate)

August

7/10

12–18°C (feels 16°C) · 11 rain days (149h) · 237 sun hours · 69% humidity · Peak crowd · UV 3 (moderate)

September

7/10

11–16°C (feels 14°C) · 12 rain days (124h) · 178 sun hours · 72% humidity · Busy crowd · UV 2 (low) · sunniest 1 in 10 days reach 3 (moderate)

Every month

Show the other 9 months in detail

January

4/10

2–7°C (feels 2°C) · 12 rain days (127h) · 88 sun hours · 82% humidity · Quiet crowd

February

4/10

3–8°C (feels 3°C) · 14 rain days (170h) · 108 sun hours · 76% humidity · Quiet crowd · UV 1 (low)

March

4/10

3–9°C (feels 5°C) · 15 rain days (165h) · 165 sun hours · 73% humidity · Quiet crowd · UV 1 (low)

April

5/10

4–10°C (feels 7°C) · 10 rain days (124h) · 213 sun hours · 68% humidity · Quiet crowd · UV 3 (low) · sunniest 1 in 10 days reach 4 (moderate)

May

6/10

8–14°C (feels 11°C) · 13 rain days (153h) · 239 sun hours · 72% humidity · Moderate crowd · UV 4 (moderate)

July

6/10

12–18°C (feels 17°C) · 15 rain days (171h) · 249 sun hours · 69% humidity · Peak crowd · UV 4 (moderate)

October

4/10

8–13°C (feels 10°C) · 17 rain days (202h) · 120 sun hours · 77% humidity · Moderate crowd · UV 1 (low)

November

4/10

5–10°C (feels 6°C) · 12 rain days (121h) · 92 sun hours · 82% humidity · Peak crowd

December

3/10

3–7°C (feels 3°C) · 17 rain days (185h) · 59 sun hours · 84% humidity · Quiet crowd

Frequently asked questions about visiting St Andrews

When is the best time to visit St Andrews?

June is the highest-scoring month (7/10 on the Holiday Climate Index). Typical conditions: 11–17°C (11 rainy days). The top three months by score are June, August, September.

What is the worst time to visit St Andrews?

December is the lowest-scoring month (3/10). Typical conditions: 3–7°C (17 rainy days).

When are crowds lowest in St Andrews?

Search-interest seasonality (Google Trends 2021-2025) is lowest in January and peaks in August. Interest tracks both in-trip visitors and lead-time planners, so treat it as a "destination is on people's minds" signal rather than literal arrivals.

Which months in St Andrews have good weather but fewer tourists?

June (climate 7/10, crowd index 47) and May (climate 6/10, crowd index 47) — shoulder months with above-average climate and below-median search-interest. Often the best value-for-weather trade.

What is the UV index in St Andrews by month?

UV peaks at 4 (moderate) in June and is lowest in January at 0 (low). Monthly peak values: Jan —, Feb 1, Mar 1, Apr 3, May 4, Jun 4, Jul 4, Aug 3, Sep 2, Oct 1, Nov —, Dec —.

What is the UV index in St Andrews in June?

June is the peak UV month in St Andrews, with a daily-peak UV index of 4 (moderate). Standard sun protection — sunglasses and light SPF — is recommended.

How high can UV get in St Andrews on the sunniest days?

Most days look like the monthly average, but on the sunniest ~1 in 10 days UV climbs higher than the mean suggests. June is the worst case: typical days average UV 4 (moderate), but the top 10% of days reach UV 6 (moderate) — and even higher. Months where the sunniest days routinely exceed the typical reading: April, June, September. Plan sun protection for the worst case, not the average.