#1Caol
3,200 peopleJanuary low·60 air frosts a year·#945 of 2,537 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Caol, #1 on this list · Photo: Steven Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0Highland rankings · Climate
Towns with the mildest winters in Highland
Caol has the mildest winters of Highland’s 16 towns of 2,500+: January nights average a low of 1.9°C (Met Office, 1991–2020). The typical town here averages 1.2°C.
The average January low (the coldest month’s nights). Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages on its 2 km grid, the cells inside each town averaged (contains Met Office data © Crown copyright). A described list: no letters. The rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sits beside each figure.
#11.9°C
#2Invergordon
3,801 peopleJanuary low·36 air frosts a year·#1,262 of 2,537 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
#T3Culloden
3,699 peopleJanuary low·43 air frosts a year·#1,763 of 2,537 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
All 16 towns, ranked
January low, highest first. Temperatures are ranked on two decimals and shown to one, so two towns showing the same figure can rank apart; towns smaller than a 2 km cell share its figures. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T = tied). Each rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland links to the national list.
16 towns.
#TownJanuary lowAir frostsUK rank
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which town in Highland has the mildest winters?
Caol: January nights average a low of 1.9°C, with 60 air frosts in a typical year. Invergordon and Culloden follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By the average January low, highest first, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages on its 2 km grid: the cells inside the town, or the one nearest its centre for a town smaller than a cell. The figure is the one on each town’s Climate page.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers Highland’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Highland is on the county page.
Go deeper
All Highland rankings →More Highland lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
Most affordable towns16 towns · #1 ThursoTowns with the best schools15 towns · #1 SmithtonHealthiest towns16 towns · #1 Milton of LeysMost walkable towns16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamTowns with the lowest flood risk16 towns · #1 Culloden and 2 moreTowns with the lowest council tax16 towns · #1 Alness and 15 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers16 towns · #1 Muir of OrdDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts16 towns · #1 InvergordonDescribed, no lettersDriest towns16 towns · #1 NairnDescribed, no lettersWettest towns16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamDescribed, no letters
County by county
Towns with the mildest winters, county by county
AberdeenshireBedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireClwydCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetDyfedEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexFifeGloucestershireGreater ManchesterGwentHampshireHertfordshireHighlandKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideMid GlamorganNorfolkNorth LanarkshireNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth LanarkshireSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest GlamorganWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire
Sources: . All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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.