Orkney & Shetland weather

Headline:

Mostly cloudy with rain at times. Windy.

Today:

Bright spells with a few showers over Shetland at first otherwise with rain over Orkney later in the morning. Cloud and rain will spread to Shetland in the afternoon. Windy. Maximum temperature 10 °C.

Tonight:

Outbreaks of rain over Shetland will clear north by the late evening. Dry but cloudy conditions over Orkney will spread to Shetland later. Windy. Minimum temperature 6 °C.

Tuesday:

A mostly dry but cloudy day with the chance of some patchy light rain or drizzle. Windy. Maximum temperature 10 °C.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

A band of cloud and rain will clear the Isles Wednesday afternoon. This will leave the rest of the period dry with the occasional sunny spell.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Mon 22 Dec 2025

Continued mostly settled conditions expected, as high pressure builds to the north of the UK. This will bring a strengthening easterly then northeasterly wind over the period, with wind-chill making it feel colder. Whilst there will be a fair amount of dry weather, a few showers will still be possible, particularly across eastern and southern parts which may be wintry in places, more especially over high ground. High pressure will likely dominate the weather in the run up to the New Year, slowly drifting to the west. This will maintain largely settled conditions, although with an increasing chance of showery conditions later in the period. Temperatures will be below average much of the time, with frost likely where clear skies and light winds prevail.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Sun 21 Dec 2025

High pressure will probably be close to the UK at the start of this period, perhaps most likely centered to the west, and whilst this may allow relatively settled and dry conditions with a risk of frost and fog initially, there will be the chance of some occasional wet weather at times, perhaps more especially in the north and east. Given some relatively cold air close to the UK, this may bring the chance of some wintry hazards in places. Towards mid-month, there is the potential for rather more changeable conditions to develop more widely, although confidence in this aspect of the forecast is currently low.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Sun 21 Dec 2025