Stranraer sits near the bottom of UK towns for July heat
Midwinter brings lows of about 2.2°C (36°F). Seasons differ by 16°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. By rainfall alone, it ranks wetter than 89% of UK towns. The heating season runs November to April: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Stranraer at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Stranraer feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 1,202 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and April the driest. About 36 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 7th wettest of 10 Dumfries and Galloway towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
35 air frosts and 2 days of 25°C a year
On about 35 nights a year the air drops below freezing; days that stay below freezing are rare. 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 Ballypatrick Forest
Ballypatrick Forest is 49 miles north-west of Stranraer, 156 m (512 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 | 7.0°C | 2.5°C | 132 mm | 4.8 |
| February | 7.2°C | 2.5°C | 106 mm | 4.2 |
| March | 8.6°C | 2.9°C | 97 mm | 3.8 |
| April | 10.7°C | 4.4°C | 80 mm | 1.6 |
| May | 13.4°C | 6.5°C | 80 mm | 0.1 |
| June | 15.6°C | 9.1°C | 86 mm | 0.0 |
| July | 17.0°C | 10.8°C | 97 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 16.9°C | 10.9°C | 109 mm | 0.0 |
| September | 15.3°C | 9.6°C | 100 mm | 0.0 |
| October | 12.3°C | 7.2°C | 143 mm | 0.2 |
| November | 9.2°C | 4.7°C | 151 mm | 1.7 |
| December | 7.3°C | 2.9°C | 146 mm | 4.3 |
| Year | 11.7°C | 6.2°C | 1,326 mm | 21 |
Met Office historic station data, Ballypatrick Forest, 1991–2020 months averaged (a month needs 20 of the 30 years; estimated values counted, missing months left out). Sunshine: Campbell-Stokes recorder.
How Stranraer 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 Dumfries and Galloway towns that size.
Stranraer 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 | 7.5°C 45°F | 2.2°C 36°F | 4.8°C | 120 mm 4.7 in |
| February | 7.9°C 46°F | 2.1°C 36°F | 5.0°C | 93 mm 3.7 in |
| March | 9.5°C 49°F | 2.9°C 37°F | 6.2°C | 89 mm 3.5 in |
| April | 12.1°C 54°F | 4.4°C 40°F | 8.2°C | 70 mm 2.7 in |
| May | 15.0°C 59°F | 6.6°C 44°F | 10.8°C | 70 mm 2.8 in |
| June | 17.3°C 63°F | 9.4°C 49°F | 13.3°C | 75 mm 3.0 in |
| July | 18.6°C 65°F | 11.0°C 52°F | 14.8°C | 85 mm 3.4 in |
| August | 18.5°C 65°F | 11.1°C 52°F | 14.8°C | 94 mm 3.7 in |
| September | 16.6°C 62°F | 9.5°C 49°F | 13.0°C | 94 mm 3.7 in |
| October | 13.4°C 56°F | 7.0°C 45°F | 10.2°C | 140 mm 5.5 in |
| November | 10.2°C 50°F | 4.5°C 40°F | 7.3°C | 137 mm 5.4 in |
| December | 8.0°C 46°F | 2.6°C 37°F | 5.3°C | 135 mm 5.3 in |
| Year | 12.9°C | 6.1°C | 9.5°C | 1,202 mm |
Where Stranraer’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 Stranraer’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 Ballypatrick Forest, 49 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 Stranraer’s climate
How warm does Stranraer get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18.6°C (65°F). About 2 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than 94% of UK towns.
How cold does Stranraer get in winter?
February nights average 2.1°C (36°F). The air drops below freezing on about 35 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Stranraer get?
About 1,202 mm (47 in) a year, more than 89% of UK towns. October is the wettest month (140 mm) and April the driest (70 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 Stranraer. 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 Stranraer →
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.