Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Alford has some of the coldest winter nights among UK towns
July afternoons average 18.7°C (66°F). The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 19°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 95% of UK towns. The outdoor season, with highs of 18–19°C, runs through July and August.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Alford at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Alford feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 803 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and February the driest. About 20 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 20th wettest of 23 Aberdeenshire towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
A frosty town: 79 air frosts and 2 days of 25°C a year
On about 79 nights a year the air drops below freezing, and on about 2 days it stays below freezing all day. About 2 days a year reach 25°C (77°F).
Day counts are 1991–2020 averages from the Met Office’s 2 km grid. The Met Office calls a day of 25°C or more a summer day and a night below 0°C an air frost; ground frosts, on grass, come more often.
The Met Office station at Braemar
Braemar is 30 miles south-west of Alford, 339 m (1,112 ft) above sea level. It is the nearest of the 37 long-running stations the Met Office publishes in full; at that distance read it for sunshine and the station’s own record, not as the town’s figures.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.8°C | −1.2°C | 100 mm | 17.3 |
| February | 5.2°C | −1.1°C | 72 mm | 16.7 |
| March | 7.2°C | −0.2°C | 66 mm | 15.3 |
| April | 10.1°C | 1.4°C | 59 mm | 10.3 |
| May | 13.7°C | 3.7°C | 59 mm | 5.4 |
| June | 16.0°C | 7.0°C | 59 mm | 0.6 |
| July | 18.0°C | 8.8°C | 71 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 17.4°C | 8.4°C | 71 mm | 0.3 |
| September | 15.0°C | 6.5°C | 68 mm | 1.4 |
| October | 10.9°C | 3.8°C | 105 mm | 5.7 |
| November | 7.4°C | 0.9°C | 103 mm | 11.0 |
| December | 5.0°C | −1.3°C | 94 mm | 17.0 |
| Year | 10.9°C | 3.1°C | 927 mm | 101 |
Met Office historic station data, Braemar, 1991–2020 months averaged (a month needs 20 of the 30 years; estimated values counted, missing months left out). Sunshine: Campbell-Stokes recorder.
How Alford compares
Against the 2,537 towns and cities of 2,500 or more across the UK, each with its own Met Office averages, and its place among Aberdeenshire towns that size.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles: a hill, a valley or the sea can make a real difference over a few miles.
Alford weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, for the town itself (the Met Office’s HadUK-Grid).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.8°C 42°F | −0.3°C 32°F | 2.8°C | 63 mm 2.5 in |
| February | 6.8°C 44°F | 0.1°C 32°F | 3.4°C | 42 mm 1.7 in |
| March | 8.6°C 48°F | 1.2°C 34°F | 4.9°C | 58 mm 2.3 in |
| April | 11.3°C 52°F | 2.8°C 37°F | 7.1°C | 75 mm 3.0 in |
| May | 14.2°C 58°F | 4.9°C 41°F | 9.6°C | 63 mm 2.5 in |
| June | 16.6°C 62°F | 8.1°C 47°F | 12.3°C | 62 mm 2.4 in |
| July | 18.7°C 66°F | 9.9°C 50°F | 14.3°C | 70 mm 2.8 in |
| August | 18.3°C 65°F | 9.6°C 49°F | 14.0°C | 65 mm 2.6 in |
| September | 16.0°C 61°F | 7.7°C 46°F | 11.9°C | 59 mm 2.3 in |
| October | 12.1°C 54°F | 5.0°C 41°F | 8.5°C | 107 mm 4.2 in |
| November | 8.4°C 47°F | 2.1°C 36°F | 5.3°C | 75 mm 2.9 in |
| December | 6.0°C 43°F | −0.2°C 32°F | 2.9°C | 63 mm 2.5 in |
| Year | 11.9°C | 4.2°C | 8.1°C | 803 mm |
Where Alford’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Mean temperature, rain and day counts: HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the 1 Met Office 2 km grid square whose centre lies inside Alford’s locality.
- Highs and lows: the Met Office publishes average daily maxima and minima on its 12 km grid; each is moved by the difference between the town’s 2 km mean temperature and the 12 km square’s, which carries the town’s own height and setting over.
- Weather station and sunshine: Met Office historic station data for Braemar, 30 miles away, months of 1991–2020 averaged.
- Comparisons: every town and city of 2,500 or more across the UK, all four nations, read the same way.
Met Office HadUK-Grid · Met Office Climate Data Portal · Historic station data. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Questions about Alford’s climate
How warm does Alford get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18.7°C (66°F). About 2 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than 92% of UK towns.
How cold does Alford get in winter?
January nights average −0.3°C (32°F). The air drops below freezing on about 79 nights a year, and about 2 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Alford get?
About 803 mm (32 in) a year, more than 55% of UK towns. October is the wettest month (107 mm) and February the driest (42 mm).
Where do these figures come from?
The Met Office’s HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages, which turn thousands of weather stations into a map of the UK in 2 km squares; the page reads the squares inside Alford. They are 30-year averages, not a forecast.
Contains Met Office data © Crown copyright 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages via the Met Office Climate Data Portal; station averages from Met Office historic station data. Today’s forecast for Alford →
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.