Photo: Albert Bridge · CC BY-SA 2.0Few UK towns get fewer frosts than Whitehead
A warm July spell here typically peaks at 18.7°C (66°F). Wet weather is most frequent in November and least in May. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 95% of UK towns. Central heating does most of its work from November to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Met Office 1991–2020 averages for the town itself.
A year in Whitehead at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What a year in Whitehead feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 942 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and May the driest. About 26 days a year bring 10 mm (0.4 in) or more. 8th wettest of 8 Mid and East Antrim towns of 2,500+.
Rain by month
Millimetres
13 air frosts and under 1 days of 25°C a year
On about 13 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 Ballypatrick Forest
Ballypatrick Forest is 34 miles north-west of Whitehead, 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 Whitehead 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 Mid and East Antrim 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehead | 18.7°C | 2.9°C | 942 mm |
| Carrickfergus 4.3 mi | 19.3°C 0.6°C warmer | 2.6°C about the same | 981 mm |
| Greenisland 7.4 mi | 19.6°C 0.9°C warmer | 2.9°C about the same | 979 mm |
| Bangor 7.4 mi | 18.8°C about the same | 2.9°C about the same | 899 mm |
| Larne 8.4 mi | 19.0°C about the same | 3.4°C about the same | 957 mm |
| Holywood 9.3 mi | 18.6°C about the same | 2.5°C about the same | 1,021 mm |
| Metropolitan Newtownabbey 10.6 mi | 18.5°C about the same | 2.2°C 0.7°C colder | 1,098 mm |
Whitehead 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 | 8.1°C 47°F | 2.9°C 37°F | 5.5°C | 93 mm 3.7 in |
| February | 8.5°C 47°F | 2.8°C 37°F | 5.7°C | 73 mm 2.9 in |
| March | 10.0°C 50°F | 3.4°C 38°F | 6.7°C | 68 mm 2.7 in |
| April | 12.0°C 54°F | 5.1°C 41°F | 8.5°C | 61 mm 2.4 in |
| May | 14.7°C 58°F | 7.1°C 45°F | 10.9°C | 59 mm 2.3 in |
| June | 17.1°C 63°F | 9.7°C 49°F | 13.4°C | 71 mm 2.8 in |
| July | 18.7°C 66°F | 11.5°C 53°F | 15.0°C | 78 mm 3.1 in |
| August | 18.4°C 65°F | 11.6°C 53°F | 14.9°C | 87 mm 3.4 in |
| September | 16.7°C 62°F | 10.2°C 50°F | 13.4°C | 74 mm 2.9 in |
| October | 13.6°C 56°F | 7.9°C 46°F | 10.7°C | 91 mm 3.6 in |
| November | 10.4°C 51°F | 5.3°C 42°F | 7.9°C | 96 mm 3.8 in |
| December | 8.3°C 47°F | 3.4°C 38°F | 5.8°C | 91 mm 3.6 in |
| Year | 13.0°C | 6.7°C | 9.9°C | 942 mm |
Where Whitehead’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 Whitehead’s settlement.
- 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, 34 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 Whitehead’s climate
How warm does Whitehead get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18.7°C (66°F). About under 1 days a year reach 25°C (77°F), fewer than almost every UK town.
How cold does Whitehead get in winter?
February nights average 2.8°C (37°F). The air drops below freezing on about 13 nights a year, and about under 1 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Whitehead get?
About 942 mm (37 in) a year, more than 74% of UK towns. November is the wettest month (96 mm) and May the driest (59 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 Whitehead. 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 Whitehead →
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.