Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Summer arrives softly in Prestonpans, cooler than in 86% of UK towns
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near 2.2°C (36°F). Frost is rarer than in 85% of UK towns: about 29 nights a year drop below freezing. Of all months, August brings the most rain and April the least. Expect about 29 frosty starts a year, nights when the air falls below freezing.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Prestonpans at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Prestonpans feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 654 mm of rain a year
August is the wettest month and April the driest. About 14 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 7th wettest of 11 East Lothian towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Sunshine by month
Hours of bright sunshine at Leuchars
29 air frosts and under 1 days of 25°C a year
On about 29 nights a year the air drops below freezing; days that stay below freezing are rare. 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 Leuchars
Leuchars is 29 miles north of Prestonpans, 10 m (33 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 | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.8°C | 0.7°C | 64 mm | 12.1 | 60 |
| February | 7.7°C | 1.0°C | 47 mm | 10.4 | 87 |
| March | 9.6°C | 2.1°C | 46 mm | 8.2 | 124 |
| April | 11.8°C | 3.8°C | 43 mm | 3.4 | 161 |
| May | 14.5°C | 6.1°C | 50 mm | 1.0 | 198 |
| June | 17.2°C | 9.1°C | 63 mm | 0.0 | 172 |
| July | 19.3°C | 10.9°C | 65 mm | 0.0 | 173 |
| August | 19.1°C | 10.7°C | 69 mm | 0.0 | 162 |
| September | 16.8°C | 9.0°C | 55 mm | 0.0 | 133 |
| October | 13.2°C | 6.2°C | 81 mm | 1.6 | 101 |
| November | 9.5°C | 2.9°C | 68 mm | 6.8 | 76 |
| December | 7.0°C | 0.9°C | 63 mm | 12.0 | 52 |
| Year | 12.7°C | 5.3°C | 714 mm | 56 | 1,498 |
Met Office historic station data, Leuchars, 1991–2020 months averaged (a month needs 20 of the 30 years; estimated values counted, missing months left out). Sunshine: Kipp & Zonen recorder.
How Prestonpans 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 East Lothian 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prestonpans | 19.3°C | 2.2°C | 654 mm |
| Cockenzie 1.4 mi | 19.2°C about the same | 2.3°C about the same | 622 mm |
| Tranent 1.5 mi | 18.9°C about the same | 1.6°C 0.5°C colder | 712 mm |
| Wallyford 1.8 mi | 19.3°C about the same | 1.9°C about the same | 651 mm |
| Musselburgh 3.0 mi | 19.4°C about the same | 1.8°C about the same | 683 mm |
| Ormiston 3.3 mi | 18.9°C about the same | 1.6°C 0.6°C colder | 711 mm |
| Longniddry 3.3 mi | 19.3°C about the same | 2.0°C about the same | 626 mm |
Prestonpans 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 | 7.4°C 45°F | 2.2°C 36°F | 4.8°C | 52 mm 2.0 in |
| February | 7.9°C 46°F | 2.3°C 36°F | 5.1°C | 44 mm 1.7 in |
| March | 9.6°C 49°F | 3.1°C 38°F | 6.4°C | 45 mm 1.8 in |
| April | 12.1°C 54°F | 4.6°C 40°F | 8.4°C | 36 mm 1.4 in |
| May | 14.9°C 59°F | 6.8°C 44°F | 10.9°C | 44 mm 1.7 in |
| June | 17.5°C 63°F | 9.5°C 49°F | 13.5°C | 61 mm 2.4 in |
| July | 19.3°C 67°F | 11.3°C 52°F | 15.3°C | 59 mm 2.3 in |
| August | 19.3°C 67°F | 11.3°C 52°F | 15.2°C | 77 mm 3.0 in |
| September | 17.0°C 63°F | 9.9°C 50°F | 13.5°C | 54 mm 2.1 in |
| October | 13.5°C 56°F | 7.2°C 45°F | 10.4°C | 69 mm 2.7 in |
| November | 10.0°C 50°F | 4.5°C 40°F | 7.3°C | 60 mm 2.4 in |
| December | 7.6°C 46°F | 2.3°C 36°F | 5.0°C | 55 mm 2.2 in |
| Year | 13.0°C | 6.2°C | 9.6°C | 654 mm |
Where Prestonpans’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 Prestonpans’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 Leuchars, 29 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 Prestonpans’s climate
How warm does Prestonpans get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.3°C (67°F). About under 1 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than 98% of UK towns.
How cold does Prestonpans get in winter?
January nights average 2.2°C (36°F). The air drops below freezing on about 29 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Prestonpans get?
About 654 mm (26 in) a year, less than 79% of UK towns. August is the wettest month (77 mm) and April the driest (36 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Met Office station with a sunshine record, Leuchars (29 miles away), averages 1,498 hours of bright sunshine a year. Sunshine isn’t on the town grid, so this is the station’s figure.
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 Prestonpans. 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 Prestonpans →
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.