Photo: Stanley Howe · CC BY-SA 2.0Portlethen has some of the coolest summers among UK towns
In January the night’s low is typically 0.9°C (34°F). Winter nights are cold: in January they are colder than in 95% of UK towns. Seasons differ by 17°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Windscreens need scraping on about 44 mornings a year, the nights the air drops below 0°C.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Portlethen at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Portlethen feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 840 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and May the driest. About 22 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 13th wettest of 23 Aberdeenshire towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
44 air frosts and under 1 days of 25°C a year
On about 44 nights a year the air drops below freezing, and on about under 1 days it stays below freezing all day. About under 1 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 48 miles west of Portlethen, 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 Portlethen 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.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portlethen | 17.5°C | 0.9°C | 840 mm |
| Newtonhill 2.2 mi | 17.9°C about the same | 1.2°C about the same | 806 mm |
| Cove Bay 3.2 mi | 17.9°C about the same | 1.5°C 0.6°C milder | 781 mm |
| Milltimber 4.7 mi | 17.6°C about the same | 0.8°C about the same | 887 mm |
| Peterculter 5.6 mi | 18.9°C 1.3°C warmer | 0.4°C about the same | 828 mm |
| Aberdeen 6.2 mi | 18.0°C about the same | 1.4°C 0.5°C milder | 840 mm |
| Kingswells 7.3 mi | 17.7°C about the same | 0.7°C about the same | 931 mm |
Portlethen 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 | 6.2°C 43°F | 0.9°C 34°F | 3.5°C | 72 mm 2.8 in |
| February | 7.2°C 45°F | 1.5°C 35°F | 4.3°C | 64 mm 2.5 in |
| March | 8.8°C 48°F | 2.2°C 36°F | 5.5°C | 53 mm 2.1 in |
| April | 10.5°C 51°F | 3.4°C 38°F | 6.9°C | 56 mm 2.2 in |
| May | 13.3°C 56°F | 5.5°C 42°F | 9.3°C | 53 mm 2.1 in |
| June | 15.3°C 60°F | 8.3°C 47°F | 11.8°C | 71 mm 2.8 in |
| July | 17.5°C 64°F | 10.4°C 51°F | 14.0°C | 74 mm 2.9 in |
| August | 17.6°C 64°F | 10.5°C 51°F | 13.8°C | 72 mm 2.8 in |
| September | 15.7°C 60°F | 8.9°C 48°F | 12.3°C | 63 mm 2.5 in |
| October | 12.4°C 54°F | 6.5°C 44°F | 9.4°C | 98 mm 3.9 in |
| November | 9.2°C 49°F | 3.7°C 39°F | 6.4°C | 90 mm 3.5 in |
| December | 6.7°C 44°F | 1.4°C 34°F | 4.1°C | 74 mm 2.9 in |
| Year | 11.7°C | 5.3°C | 8.4°C | 840 mm |
Where Portlethen’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 Portlethen’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, 48 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 Portlethen’s climate
How warm does Portlethen get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 17.6°C (64°F). About under 1 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than almost every UK town.
How cold does Portlethen get in winter?
January nights average 0.9°C (34°F). The air drops below freezing on about 44 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Portlethen get?
About 840 mm (33 in) a year, more than 61% of UK towns. October is the wettest month (98 mm) and May the driest (53 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 Portlethen. 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 Portlethen →
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.